Engine Lonning is a 10.1 hectare semi-natural, council-owned Green Space on the south bank of the River Eden in Carlisle. It is mainly woodland with some grassland glades, but has a rich heritage and story to tell.

The name hints at railways forming part of that story, and indeed it is the site of a former bustling rail yard and includes one end of the now-closed Carlisle Waverley Viaduct that crosses the river.

Before that the site included part of the 10-mile-long Carlisle Ship Canal – now infilled and part of the (wet) woodland. Its heritage dates back to the Roman era, encompassing the course of Hadrian’s Wall and its associated National Trail. A network of PRoW, permissive paths and informal trails criss-cross the woods.

Planned path improvements and new interpretation for the site will exist beyond the life of the four-year project allowing subsequent generations of local families to get to know and use the site.

Events, capital work and volunteering activities undertaken during the project will focus on engaging long-term local beneficiaries, volunteers and project partners, working with Eden Rivers Trust (on rivers) and with Carlisle Waverley Viaduct Trust (on railway history and conservation).

Spring / Summer 2024 Activities

We’ve held discovery days with a Nature Detectives trail, let visitors travel back in time from railways to Romans where visitors got to handle Roman artifacts and meet a real-life Roman! Our friends from Carlisle Waverley Viaduct have been on-site to share the fascinating stories of the railway yard that was once here. Stomping Ground has held activities and games and we have had teams of volunteers on site to Bash the Balsam. 

We attended a HAF holiday event at Raffles in Carlisle, spending the day chatting to residents and visitors about our plans and asking  people about the changes they would like to see whilst entertaining younger visitors with some creative activities making stick dogs bashing balsam flowers onto cotton bags to take away.

A band of volunteers (from ERT and Cumberland Council Greenspaces) scraped, cut, shovelled, thwacked and cleared vegetation and leaf-litter to help uncover some of the hidden history of Engine Lonning’s heyday as a Railway Engine Yard…The large turntable was first on the list and everyone got stuck into that one!

In pictures…

Thank you

This project is supported by the Access to Eden: breaking barriers, building bridges partnership project led by Eden Rivers Trust with a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks also to Cumberland Council for their support via the West Carlisle Community Panel and the Ernest Cook Trust.