| Garsdale Head | |
Garsdale Head |
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Garsdale Head
Garsdale Head shown within Cumbria |
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| OS grid reference | SD786919 |
|---|---|
| Parish | Garsdale |
| District | South Lakeland |
| Shire county | Cumbria |
| Region | North West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Sedbergh |
| Dialling code | 015396 |
| Police | Cumbria |
| Fire | Cumbria |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Cumbria | |
Garsdale Head is a hamlet in Cumbria, but is part of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It lies at the top of the valley of Garsdale, on and near the A684 road between Sedbergh and Hawes. Its main attraction is Garsdale railway station on the Settle-Carlisle Railway and the Wensleydale Railway. The alternative name was Hawes Junction until the branch line to Hawes was closed in 1964, and this name remains in common use.
Sixteen cottages were built by the Midland Railway Company for its employees soon after the opening of the line in 1876. Another six "Moorcock Cottages" were built in similar Victorian style half a mile away just over the border in Richmondshire, North Yorkshire. Just before the border, in a matching building style (because it was built by the Midland Railway contractors), is Mount Zion Chapel, a Primitive Methodist meeting-place which is still used for special events.
Apart from one other Edwardian building, Clough View, all the other buildings in the hamlet are much older, or are renovations of older properties. The Moorcock Inn, at the junction of the A684 and the B6259 to Kirkby Stephen via Lunds, Mallerstang and Nateby, is the only public house in the 16-mile journey between Sedbergh and Hawes, and has an adjoining Bed and Breakfast establishment. There are toilet facilities at the station, and an original red public telephone box at the bottom of the steep hill up to the station. There was a post office at Garsdale Head between 1881 and June 1963. In about 1911 it was located in a shop in a stone-built house [1] but in 1934 it was described and pictured as being "nothing but a tin hut, nine feet by six".[2] The office was replaced in 1963 by one at Garsdale, which has since closed.
The "Coal Road" which joins Garsdale to Dent station is a scenic single-track route suitable for walkers, strong cyclists and any motor vehicle except when there is any snow or ice, when its steep surface becomes treacherous.