Ravenglass Railway Museum to open walking routes exhibition

Ravenglass Railway Museum is preparing to host a new exhibition titled 'Walks from Ratty'.

It is set to open during the first week of July and is inspired by a book of the same name, written and illustrated by Alfred Wainwright in 1978.

Alfred Wainwright (Image: Derek Brabbs)

Known for his pictorial guides to the Lakeland Fells, Mr Wainwright described Eskdale as "one of the grandest of Lakeland’s valleys".

This exhibition will be showcasing these routes and others linked to the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.

Historian Alan Cleaver has conducted research highlighting the history behind the routes travelled daily by postmen and women of the past, also known as ‘postal’ or ‘postman’s’ paths.

Supported by The Wainwright Society, the exhibition will run until the end of 2024 in the museum’s temporary gallery.

Visitors can view Mr Wainwright’s drawing tools, on loan from Cumbria Archives.

Members of the Wainwright Society, David Johnson and Mark Abbott, and Mr Cleaver will be leading a series of guided walks.

Mr Johnson and Mr Abbott said: "We are looking forward to these walks, which are in an area where we began our Lakeland walking many decades ago."

Between July 9 and July 19, the walks on offer will be the 10 featured in Wainwright’s Walks from Ratty book.

On September 7 and September 15, Mr Cleaver will also be offering guided walks of postal paths featured in the exhibition.

He said: "Rural postmen and women often walked or cycled many miles a day in all weathers to deliver the post, today all deliveries are by van.

"They were tough walks but through some of the most beautiful parts of the Cumbrian countryside.

"I'll be sharing the routes and revealing more about the people who walked them."

Featured in the exhibition is postwoman Hannah Knowles, of Eskdale. Ms Knowles received a British Empire Medal in recognition of her public service.

Claire Winter-Moore, collections assistant at the Ravenglass Railway Museum, said: "If anyone knows or has any knowledge of Hannah’s medal, please do get in touch with us at the museum.

"We are particularly grateful to the Wainwright Society who have provided significant support to make this exhibition possible."

The book 'Walks from Ratty' can be bought at the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway’s gift shops and from the railway’s website.

From the July 1, it will feature an additional update to the route descriptions, thanks to David Johnson, who retraced Wainwright’s steps on all 10 of the routes in 2022.