'The M6 Motorway in Cumbria'

On 5th December 1958, Preston became the site of Britain's first motorway in the form of the Preston Bypass, and was opened by the then Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. It consisted of 8.26 miles from Broughton in the north to Bamber Bridge in the south. In subsequent years the motorway was extended piecemeal in both directions and is now 230 miles (370 km) long.

The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It runs from a junction with the M1 near Rugby in central England, passes near Coventry, through Birmingham and near the major cities of Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Manchester, Liverpool, and Preston, and on to the north of Carlisle, close to the Scottish border.

The three-lane M6, which came to Cumbria in the late 1960s and early 1970s, transformed communications within the county and outside, creating opportunities in relation to tourism and economic development, which had not previously existed.

The route to Scotland is very close to the one chosen by the Romans, except that their road passes to the east of Farlton Knott, the prominent limestone hill a few miles north of Carnforth, while the M6 passes to the west.

For several miles through the Lune Gorge, the motorway and its 2000 year old predecessor run parallel to each other. The Roman road is clearly visible from the motorway on the opposite side of the Lune on the western flanks of the Howgill Fells. After about 400 A.D., the Roman road fell into disuse, and during the Middle Ages a much more tortuous route north came into use, going through Kendal and over Shap Fells. Eventually with the coming of mass motoring it was decided that a new road was needed. The Lune Gorge route was chosen as it was easier to engineer, and not so liable to be affected by hill fog and bad visibility.

There are 160 structures on the Lune Gorge section of the motorway of which 77 are bridges or underpasses. Cost studies led to open abutments being selected generally, so that for standard situations overbridges have three or four spans, but most underbridges have single spans. In one case an overbridge carrying a minor road was designed with 3 spans rather than 4, so as to frame a magnificent early view of the approach to the Lune Gorge for North-bound travellers.

Within a length of 2.5 miles in the Gorge, 8 underbridges were required to carry the motorway, and 3 to carry the diverted A685. The 73 ft high Borrowbeck viaduct is close to and 10 ft higher than the stone arch railway viaduct carrying the West Coast main line to Glasgow. The central span of the curved motorway viaduct was designed to frame the railway viaduct when viewed from the realigned A685, itself on a new curved bridge over Borrow Beck.

The location of Service Areas was treated as an environmental as well as an amenity matter. Connecting overbridges were avoided, and sites were selected alternately for North- and South-bound traffic with the two southernmost ones widely separated. However, where the carriageways are separated North of Tebay, they are opposite one another. All are designed to provide views away from the motorway, and at Killington the Service Area overlooks the Reservoir, and is well screened from the motorway by ground contours.

The M6 rises from near sea level on the Forton to Carnforth section to over one thousand feet above sea level on the moors near Shap. Consequently there is a marked contrast in scenery and vegetation owing to the rapid change in climate. The road at sea level, and close to the warm waters of Morecambe Bay, is not normally subject to heavy snowfalls. As the motorway moves higher and away from the coast the frequency of snowfalls increases rapidly.

On average the Tebay to Penrith section is about 5 degrees F colder than the more southerly section, and is subject to snow and hill fog. The engineers have attempted to minimise interferance from snow by seperating the carriageways in this section. In some places they are 800 feet apart, and where they are brought together, the central reservation is never less than thirty feet wide. In addition to having plenty of space for removal of snow, the slopes of the cuttings along this section have been made as gentle as possible, as steep cuttings encourage the formation of snow drifts.

On this elevated ground between Shap and Tebay, where the north and south-bound carriages split apart, a local road runs between the two carriageways without a direct link to the motorway.

The section of the M6 which runs over Shap Fell in Cumbria is 320m above sea level, one of the highest points on any motorway in the UK (Junction 22 of the M62 on Saddleworth Moor is higher). The West Coast main railway line runs alongside the M6 for much of its length.

In Cumbria the M6 passes through or adjacent to three conservation areas:

• The Protected Route of the Lancaster Canal.
• The Settle – Carlisle Railway line at Scotby.
• Hadrians Wall Military Zone World Heritage Site.

A74 "The Cumberland Gap"

In March 2006, after years of political wrangling, the Government finally gave the green light to extend the M6 for 6 miles (the so-called "Cumberland Gap") from its northern terminus at Guard's Mill near Carlisle to the Anglo-Scottish border at Gretna. This will connect the M6 to the A74(M) and M74. On completion it is widely believed that the M74 will be renamed M6, creating a motorway running more than 350 miles (563 km) from Rugby to Glasgow.

Metal Bridge - Ordnance Survey - NY 354650

Junction 44 - Carlisle (north); Longtown, Galashiels, Hawick A7
Ordnance Survey - NY 394599

Junction 43 - Carlisle (east); Hexham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne A69
Ordnance Survey - NY 432560

Junction 42 - Carlisle (south) A6
Ordnance Survey - NY 437518

About halfway between Junction 42 and Southwaite services, on the left, is the small village of Wreay, with one of the most amazing churches in Cumbria - St Mary's.

Southwaite services - (Moto)
Map : Ordnance Survey - NY 441452
Email : southwaitetic@visitscotland.com
Tel: 016974 73445

Junction 41 - Wigton B5305
Ordnance Survey - NY 490335

Junction 40 - Penrith, Keswick A66; Brough, Scotch Corner A66
Ordnance Survey - NY 509289

Just south of Penrith, on the left, is the ancient Mayburgh Henge, and a little further on, just before the railway crosses the motorway, is Clifton Hall Pele Tower. From here, also to the left, are fine views of the Pennines - Cross Fell, Little Dun Fell, and Great Dun Fell with its air traffic control radome on top.

The A6 crosses the M6 from left to right, then a little further on from right to left, and just after this, on your left, is the grand South entrance lodge leading via the Emperor's Drive into Lowther Park and Castle.

A little further on is Gunnerkeld Stone Circle - just a few metres from the motorway - and on private farmland. Gunnerkeld consists of two concentric circles, the inner one being in better condition. There are two large stones to the N which may be entrance portals and a very large stone to the SSW. The inner ring is approximately 18 metres in diameter, and is more complete than the outer ring which measures 28 metres in diameter with only 3 of the estimated 18 stones still standing. See more information and pictures

Gunnerkeld Stone Circle - Ordnance Survey - NY 568178

Junction 39 - Shap, Kendal A6
Ordnance Survey - NY 579127

Tebay Services - (Westmorland)
Map : Ordnance Survey - NY 606062
Website: www.westmorland.com
Tel: 015396 24511

Cumbria's award-winning Tebay Services, operated by Westmorland Ltd, is a family-owned motorway services, located on both the north and southbound sides of the M6 Motorway, just north of Junction 38. They are the only services in England to be built and operated by local people, and have established a strong reputation for excellent home made food and friendly staff, as well as its award-winning farm shops.

Just north of Junction 38 (on the right if travelling south) is a large mound of earth. This is 'Castle Howe' - the remains of a medieval motte and bailey castle occupying a long oval hillock of about one and three quarter acres. The motte rises 9 feet above the bailey next to the motorway, and was probably the seat of the Tebay family until the 12th century. Traces of a rampart survive on the south side with a ditch separating it from the bailey. It was erected to challenge any enemy passing through the Lune Gorge.

The importance of Tebay grew from the coming of the Turnpike in 1760 when the village was a staging post. With the coming of the Lancaster to Carlisle railway in 1846, it became an important railway junction with the LNER to Darlington. Tebay became a substantial village of more than a thousand people, with a station, engine sheds and marshalling yards, and the home base of steam engines that supplied the extra power needed to climb to Shap summit. This all died with the 'Beeching axe' in 1968.

Junction 38 - Tebay, Kendal, Brough A685; Appleby B6260
Ordnance Survey - NY 614049

The Lune Gorge between Junction 37 and Junction 38 is widely acknowledged as the most beautiful stretch of motorway in the country. The Gorge cleaves through a geological fault line in the band of hills which joins the Pennines with the Lake District fells.

Through it pours the River Lune, which is fed by a wide catchment across the hills above the Gorge, from the broad norther flank of the Howgill Fells to Orton Scar, and the Birbeck fells to the west. Historically the gorge has carried the main north-south arterial road through the country, the motorway, the railway, and the Roman Road. This was guarded by a Roman Fort midway down the Gorge, the remains of which can be seen from the motorway at Low Borrow Bridge. The Gorge, and the lower reaches of the lovely Borrowdale valley, which joins it at Low Borrow Bridge, remains richly clothed in the deciduous woodland which has graced them both for so many centuries.

The 73 ft high Borrowbeck viaduct is close to and 10 ft higher than the stone arch railway viaduct carrying the West Coast main line to Glasgow. The central span of the curved motorway viaduct was designed to frame the railway viaduct when viewed from the realigned A685, itself on a new curved bridge over Borrow Beck.

In the same lay-by as the above picture was taken is a large rock, with a Civic Trust Award plaque saying :

This award for an outstanding contribution to the appearance of the Westmorland landscape relates to the 36 miles of M6 Motorway between the Lancaster and Penrith by-passes.

The lay-by is marked on the map as a 'scenic viewpoint'.

If you travel south down the M6 or the West Coast Main Line over Shap, and look to your left as you approach the Lune Gorge, you will see the disused Lowgill Viaduct. This splendid eleven-arched and listed structure, built on a curve, once carried the The Lune Valley Railway from Clapham and Ingleton, via Sedbergh, over a beck a short distance south of the long gone Lowgill station.

Lowgill Viaduct - Ordnance Survey - SD 616965

Junction 37 - Kendal, Sedbergh A684
Ordnance Survey - SD 595930

Killington Lake services (southbound only) - (Road Chef)
Ordnance Survey - SD 585913

Killington Service Area is well screened from the motorway by ground contours, and has a fine location - overlooking the Killington Reservoir.

About one Km from the source of Killington Beck, the beck is dammed to form the Killington Reservoir or Killington Lake. This was completed in 1819 to supply the Lancaster Canal. There is no aqueduct - the reservoir merely controls the flow in the beck. A small dam about 10 Km downstream near Crooklands diverts water into the canal. The section of canal from Tewitfield to Kendal no longer exists, due to it being cut in three places by the construction of the M6, though there are plans to restore this.

Just before you get to Junction 36, Preston Patrick church can be seen on the right.

Junction 36 - Kirkby Lonsdale, Skipton A65; Kendal; Barrow-in-Furness A590
Ordnance Survey - SD 533826

Burton-in-Kendal services (northbound only) - (Moto)
Ordnance Survey - SD 521761

Aerial photos by Simon Ledingham except where otherwise shown.

Places to Stay :

• Killington Lake - Premier Inn (M6 South)
• Southwaite - Travelodge
• Tebay - Westmorland Hotel
• Burton - Travelodge (M6 North)

Related Links :

• Wikipedia M6
• The M6 in Cumbria - BBC Cumbria.
• History of the M6 - Lancashire County Council.
• FreeFotos- M6 - The M6 Motorway as it passes through the Lune Valley in Cumbria.
• Wikipedia Lancaster Canal

• Tebay Services
• Killington Services
• Southwaite Services