Trail through city woodland points to railway past

A new railway-themed trail through a city centre woodland is paying homage to its locomotive history.

Eden Rivers Trust led a project at Carlisle's Engine Lonning, a 10-hectare (25-acre) green space, to create an accessible path, signs, seating and sculptures.

Network Rail donated lengths of railway track which were shaped into way-markers as a nod to the former Canal Shed, a locomotive yard where engines were serviced from the 1860s to the late 1960s.

The area's proximity to Hadrian's Wall has been referenced by stone carver, Tony Crellin, who created motifs of Roman coins on a wall, while artist Helen Clues put together a series of wildlife mosaics.

Chief executive officer at Eden Rivers Trust Harvey Hamilton-Thorpe said the former bustling railyard was an "integral part of the local community's history and heritage".

"Generations of family members would have been employed at the site and many memories shared."

Before the railyard, the site included part of the 10-mile-long (16km) Carlisle Ship Canal, which was infilled and is part of the green space.

The project at the Cumberland Council-owned land was funded by the local authority and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The trust is hosting a free activity day to mark the new trail at the site on 6 September.

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