Feature NEWBIGGIN-ON-LUNE


 Admiring the limestone quarry – this track will be surfaced to allow access for manual wheelchair users by 2020. Photo: Andy North


SMARDALE GILL VIADUCT


BROWNBER


LIMESTONE QUARRY


N WAITBY GREENRIGGS WAITBY SMARDALE


SMARDALE VIADUCT


named Demesne Wood with trees that look as though they’re clinging on for dear life to the deceptively steep-sided slopes beneath the track.


What is certain, though, is you will reach Smardalegill (all one word on the OS map!) Viaduct – 90 feet high and 14 stone arches to take the track over Scandal Beck – and feel as though you’re in a most remote place. In reality, you are. Up to this point, the track is perfectly accessible and the viaduct itself atainable for manual wheelchair users provided they have strength and stamina… or their partners do!


Nestled between Begin Hill and Smardale Fell, with limestone outcrops and views over to the majestic Howgills, the viaduct is a place that needs to be kept secret. Sort of. It’s fascinating to think that steam trains would have made their way through here, flanked by the steep-sided hills which themselves are literally litered with evidence of times gone by.


Aſter the viaduct, the track becomes grassy and potentially muddy in places and I’d recommend this be the turning- around point for manual wheelchair users. You really do need a sturdy all- terrain wheelchair for the next section to ensure smooth and safe passage. The next section of the walk delivers the limestone quarry, old kilns and a dilapidated house that looks as though it belongs in The Blair Witch Project. Just on from this building – a railway worker’s cotage presumably – you pass under a bridge that will be familiar to all Coast-


to-Coast walkers. They will walk over the bridge before climbing up Smardale Fell towards Kirkby Stephen aſter a long foot journey from Shap. Being here brought back happy memories from 1999 and 2003 when Andy and I walked the iconic Wainwright route. Alas, that’s no longer possible, so in 2015 we made up our own wheelchair-friendly version.


Eventually, the grassy section comes an end and, unless you’ve arranged for transport here, it’s time to turn around and head back to Smardale. This gives you a trek of about 6.5 miles in total but you may want to add some other ‘may or may not’ moments to your walk. The Scotch argus buterfly, redstarts, wood warblers, pied flycatchers, buzzards, treecreepers, sparrowhawks, bluebells, early-purple orchids. Andy and me.


For details of this walk and other wheelchair-friendly walks in this area and across the UK, visit www.theoutdoorguide.co.uk


Q&A


v Where did you get your wheelchair? The TerrainHopper is a 4x4 all-terrain wheelchair. It’s designed and made in the UK www.terrainhopper.com


v What does it allow you to do? This wheelchair has the capabilities to move over all types of terrain, including rocks, sand, snow and mud. It enables me to get back into the countryside and enjoy longer, more challenging adventures. I can now get back into the hills and dales. It’s a Class 3 mobility vehicle, which means it can legally go where a walker can go. I tend to look for bridleways when planning a new route as they generally are barrier free.


v How far can you go? The TerrainHopper has lithium bateries which last about 25 miles, depending on the gradient and ground covered.


v Where are your other favourite places to visit?


I am very lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the country and I love High Cup Nick in the Eden Valley. The views from the top are amazing. It’s clear to see why it’s nicknamed the 'Grand Canyon of the North'. You can find the link to the route I took to the summit here www.theoutdoorguide.co.uk/walks/ wheelchair-friendly-walks/duſton-to- high-cup-nick/


Editor's note: Smardale Gill Viaduct is owned and managed by the Northern Viaduct Trust www.nvt.org.uk


v Where’s next on your list of places to visit? My next project is with the Yorkshire Dales National Park. We are filming three more wheelchair-accessible routes around the Dales.


www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk 23


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