Travels with Daisy, Part One: Keighley Worth Valley Railway

While it is one of my interests, this installment of traveling in the UK with pets is also a bit self-serving.  In an effort to reduce the amount of time I sit watching American television, eating Kraft Mac&Cheese and wishing I was back in the land of the free and the home of the BRAVES, I’ve decided to get out on my days off and see what’s around me, at least in West Yorkshire for now.

This past Friday the weather was gorgeous and I decided to take Daisy on a trip up the Keighley Worth Valley Railroad line from Ingrow to Oxenhope.  We would then travel back down the line to the other end, which happens to be at Keighley railway station (just in time to meet Hubby as he arrived in from work).   I scoured the KWVR website to make sure that Daisy would be allowed on the trains as she is on the “regular” (read=non-historic) trains and buses.  All in all, the UK is so much less high-strung about pets than the US, it’s a marvelous change.  She was indeed permitted on, and we walked the 5 minutes down to Ingrow West station.

The KWVR is a local commuter line that connects the villages of Oxenhope, Haworth, Damems, Oakworth, and Ingrow to the larger city of Keighley.  It operates a steam train an a diesel engine service several times a day, and is a draw for locals to leave their cars at home when traveling down to Keighley for shopping or business reasons.  From their website:   The steep gradient up the Worth Valley from the Keighley terminus has been a challenge for locomotives ever since the line opened on 15th April 1867. The sound of a steam engine tackling this climb echoes from the steep sides of the valley, while great clouds of steam and smoke add drama to the scene. Many of the woollen mills that once stood close to the line have been demolished, but a few remain as reminders that the textile industry was the reason why the line was built. Like the railway, the mills relied on coal, and the trains were able to bring hundreds of tons up the valley each week to keep the looms working by steam power. The five mile journey is a powerful reminder of our industrial heritage, as well as being a unique way of enjoying the beautiful countryside immortalised by Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë.

Some readers may remember the 1970 film, The Railway Children, parts of which were filmed at the stations along the KWVR line.  This year marks the 40th anniversary of the film, and there are celebrations planned for the first bank holiday weekend in May on the line.

The staff that I have encountered on my journeys with KWVR have been ever so friendly and helpful.  The train guard at Ingrow West told Daisy how lovely she was and that she needed to cover her ears because the train was quite loud when it arrived.  The conductor on board the train smiled as he stepped over and around her in order to pass through the carriages to sell tickets.  We didn’t get to see too much of Oxenhope before starting back down the line because I didn’t want to miss the train.  You see, unlike other “regular” train lines the KWVR is a single track line.  Train goes up, train comes back down.  Granted it isn’t far from Keighley to Oxenhope, but if you’re waiting on a steam engine to come back and fetch you it may have to fill back up with water at a station first…or, as happened to us, it may come off the rails as it goes to fill up, and you have to wait for the diesel engine to rescue you!  Again, I can’t say enough good things about the onboard and Oxenhope station staff (who are all volunteers, mind you) during that delay.  They kept us not only informed, but entertained.

Oxenhope station has an adorable tea room just off the platform that used to be a buffet car on the line.  There are shops at the larger stations (Haworth and Oxenhope) where you can get everything from railway memorabilia to ice cream.  The railway presents a chance to step back in time for a few hours and see what a working railway was like in the days of steam train travel, before everything was high speed with digital timetables hanging from the ceiling.  The timetables on the boards at the KWVR stations are written by hand, either on paper or chalkboards.

Daisy was a star throughout, and even the teenagers mocking her for her Old Navy T-shirt couldn’t bring our spirits down.  There is just something terribly romantic and timeless and, dare I say, British, about settling into one of the plush seats of a carriage and watching as the Yorkshire countryside rolls past outside your window, complete with the chugging of the engine and the slight sway of the train on the tracks.  This is definitely a must visit, whether with or without animals.