Location : Crosby Garrett / Kirkby Stephen
Map - Ordnance Survey - NY 733082
12 arches, 131 ft high, 237 yards long.
Smardale is the highest viaduct on the S&C railway, towering 131 feet over Scandal Beck, and built entirely of grey limestone.
Photo by Ann Bowker
Photo by Julian Thurgood
The road to Smardale from Crosby Garret is extremely narrow, crossing this small ford. Photo by Julian Thurgood
The left arch crosses the old North Eastern Railway line.
The old North Eastern Railway line (formerly the South Durham and Lancashire Union railway) from Darlington to Tebay also passed under this viaduct.
About a mile south along the old NER line is the another magnificent viaduct over Scandal Beck - Old Smardale viaduct. The viaduct has been restored by the Northern Viaducts trust into its present excellent condition, and a public footpath utilises the viaduct to cross the valley.
Smardale Gill itself is a nature reserve under the care of Cumbria Wildlife Trust.
The two viaducts at Smardale - the CSR one in the foreground, and the disused NER viaduct beyond
Disused NER viaduct over Scandal beck, now part of a nature reserve
Aerial photos by Simon Ledingham.
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