Photo: Peter Moore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsAcross the Pennines from the Dales to Morecambe Bay by way of Giggleswick, Clapham and the Three Peaks, on the old Little North Western.
The Bentham Line shares the Airedale route from Leeds through Skipton to Settle Junction, then instead of climbing to Carlisle it heads west through Giggleswick, Clapham and Bentham along the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, with Ingleborough and the other Three Peaks on the north side.
Beyond Wennington the line follows the Lune valley into Lancashire, joining the West Coast Main Line at Carnforth (of Brief Encounter fame and home of West Coast Railways' steam depot) before running to Lancaster and on to the resort of Morecambe, with its Art Deco Midland Hotel and views across the bay to the Lake District fells.
Northern Class 158 units work the line. Combined with the Settle–Carlisle and the West Coast Main Line the route makes the popular Leeds–Carlisle–Lancaster–Leeds circuit covered by the North West Round Robin ticket.
Giggleswick Scar and Ingleborough are on the right heading west, and Morecambe Bay is on the right on the run south from Carnforth.
Sides are given facing the direction of travel. Miles are approximate from the start of the journey.
Yes: Leeds to Carlisle by the Settle–Carlisle, Carlisle to Lancaster by the West Coast, then the Bentham Line back to Leeds, with the North West Round Robin at £51.50.
The station has a Brief Encounter visitor centre and refreshment room restored to 1940s style.
Clapham for Ingleborough and the Norber erratics; Giggleswick and Settle for Ribblesdale.
Scenic lineEngland's most celebrated main line, climbing from the Yorkshire Dales over Ribblehead Viaduct and Ais Gill summit into the Eden Valley.
Scenic lineThrough the Peak District from Sheffield to Manchester via Totley and Cowburn tunnels, Hathersage, Castleton's Hope Valley and Edale under Kinder Scout.
Scenic lineThrough the mill towns of the Calder valley, Hebden Bridge, Todmorden and the Summit Tunnel, on the first railway across the Pennines.