The Dalesman
DATES & PRICES FOR 2027 WILL BE ANNOUNCED LATER IN THE YEAR
The Railway That Refused to Die
Steam on the Settle to Carlisle line. 150 years on, you can still ride it the way it was meant to be ridden.
2027 season. Dates and fares coming soon.
The Dalesman is a full-day heritage train excursion with steam from Hellifield, across the most celebrated railway in England. Seventy-two miles of Victorian engineering cut through the Pennines, over 20 viaducts and through 14 tunnels.
Choose Your Route
From York
Tuesdays
Dates
2027 dates coming soon
Join at
York, Castleford, Woodlesford (Leeds), Keighley, Skipton
The Route
The full Settle to Carlisle line experience, both ways. Steam-hauled from Hellifield across Ribblehead Viaduct, through Blea Moor Tunnel, past Dent and over Ais Gill summit to Carlisle.
The complete railway, there and back. The way it was built to be seen.
From Chester
Thursdays
Dates
2027 dates coming soon
Join at
Chester, Frodsham, Warrington Bank Quay, Leyland, Preston
The Route
The Settle to Carlisle line outbound with steam from Hellifield. The return runs over the West Coast Mainline with steam all the way to Carnforth, past Shap summit and the edge of the Lake District.
Two great lines in a single day. Unique in Britain.
Classes and fares
Every passenger rides in lovingly restored vintage carriages. What changes is the travel class and service.
Standard
Classic heritage travel experience
Fares coming soon
First Class
Enhanced comfort and service
Fares coming soon
Premier First
Premium service and dining
Fares coming soon
Premier Dining
Full English breakfast and Bucks Fizz outbound.
Champagne reception and four-course dinner with wine on the return.
Fares coming soon
What happens on the day
You join the train at one of five historic stations on your route. The carriages are vintage Mark I and Mark II stock, restored by the workshop at Carnforth with corridor connections between coaches, and the particular click and sway of a train built before anyone was in a hurry.
At Hellifield, a working heritage steam locomotive backs on to the train. The whistle goes, and you begin the crossing. Twenty-four stone arches of Ribblehead, 104 feet above the moor, the Three Peaks on the skyline. The long plunge into Blea Moor, the longest tunnel on the line. Dent, the highest mainline station in England. Ais Gill summit, where the rivers split east and west. Then the slow descent through the Eden Valley, the Howgills rising to one side, the distant Lakeland fells on the other.
Two hours in Carlisle. Then home.
The line they tried to close
British Rail announced the closure of the Settle to Carlisle line in 1984. For five years, local campaigners refused to let it go. In 1989, the Transport Secretary reversed the decision. Every mile you travel on the Dalesman is a mile the public fought for.
Today the line carries 1.2 million passengers a year. Lonely Planet ranks it in the top ten most scenic railway journeys in Europe. In 2026, it turned 150.
Your two hours in Carlisle
A border city with 900 years of history, six minutes on foot from the platform. Carlisle Castle, built in 1092, with ramparts looking north toward the Scottish border. The cathedral, ten minutes in the other direction, with its famous medieval star-vaulted ceiling. Tullie House Museum sits between the two. A proper Cumbrian lunch in the old town, and you are back on the platform with time to spare.
Steam on the Settle to Carlisle in 2027
Dates and fares for 2027 are coming soon. Register to be the first to hear when bookings open.
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