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Ravenglass
From Romans to Railways
This ancient port was sheltered by the sand spits of the Rivers Esk, Irt
and Mite. 1600 years after the Romans left their fort, its Bath House
walls still stand tall. Following many invasions, Ravenglass was a busy
town in the Middle Ages with Muncaster Castle nearby.
In 1208 King John signed a Charter for a market in Main Street and the
Fair, a great event until the 1800s. But trade lost out to smuggling as
the harbour silted up. Few boats put in after George Stephenson's main
line railway opened. By 1875 England's first narrow gauge trains started
to carry iron ore here from Eskdale. When La'al Ratty closed it was
revived as the Smallest Public Railway in the World and preserved by
enthusiasts.
After two millennia, the estuary of the three rivers remains a sanctuary
for sailors and seabirds. Ravenglass is a historic community in a
wonderful setting.
Rambles Around Ravenglass
1 To the old village and shore
From the main line railway footbridge skirt the village car park on the
former medieval Town Field. Across the road, go down the steps past The
Old Butcher's Shop. With pushchairs go along the pavement and turn left
past Holly House Hotel.
Main Street widens where the market and fair were held from 1209. Watch
for date stones of 1689,1762 and 1763 on old houses and the site of the
Village Cross.
By the old Reading Room, go into the new Millennium Garden to view the
pebble mosaic and look across the estuary. Where Main Street narrows
again, steel gates keep back the storm tides.
If tides permit walk along the foreshore: either go left to the Roman Bath
House or right past smugglers' haunts onto the Village Green. Here a
smithy and cottages once overlooked the Ford across the River Mite. This
was the old Coach Road before the main line railway came. Return to the
starting point via the village car park.
2 To the Roman Bath House
From the railway footbridge, go through a gate opposite the Play Area.
Cross grass and woodland to reach a narrow tarmac road. Turn right.
Continue for 200 metres to the Bath House at the site of the Roman Fort.
Return by the same route or continue - bear right, then right again under
the mainline railway bridge to the shore. Go right if tide permits, along
the Old Coach Road and through the floodgates into Main Street. Turn right
after the Post Office to return to the start.
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