Cumbria Coast 1 – Barrow to Whitehaven

The railway line which travels along the Cumbria coast northwards from Barrow-in-Furness is one of Britain’s least-known scenic routes. The views are spectacular, with the hills of the Lake District on one side and the Irish Sea on the other, sometimes just a few feet from the track.

This production gives you the best seat on the train as our five cameras show you everything along the way. There’s even a view of our driver in the cab of the class 153 DMU. The scenery sparkles on a crystal clear day with beautiful blue skies, and the pictures are accompanied by full, knowledgable commentary for the entire trip.

The line routes north along the edge of the stunning Duddon Estuary to the crossing point at Foxfield, where the Furness Railway’s and Whitehaven & Furness Junction Railway’s tracks meet. From there we head south-west to Millom, birthplace of comedy actor Stan Laurel, before turning north towards the station shared with the Ravenglass & Eskdale Steam Railway on the Ravenglass Estuary. We cling to the edge of the shore, encountering the massive nuclear site at Sellafield before easing pas landslips and turning inland at historic St. Bees. From there it’s a short run to the three-quarter mile Corkickle Tunnel, which delivers us on to the platform next to Whitehaven’s harbour.

And as a further added treat we re-interpret the classic 1952 BBC film, London to Brighton in Four Minutes, with our own version from Laxey to the summit.