Kingmoor - Trainspotting at The Sidings Traditional Cache

It is suitable for all terrain wheelchairs and buggys as the paths are not surfaced but are hard packed earth tracks (The actual cache is off the main path in a slight clearing). It is a popular train spotting and dog walking area so beware of muggles. A bit of CITO is always welcome as people do leave litter. The cache is a small lock and lock with a few bits inside.

The Kingmoor Motive Power Depot or Kingmoor Sidings opened in 1874 as a service depot for trains on the Caledonian Railway which ran from Carlisle to Glasgow and Edinburgh. Although most of the railway structures have been removed, the remains of the large shed are still visible in the undergrowth along with the brick wall that surrounded the 44ft turntable and some of the old tracks. The site developed in the 1930s with a large mechanical coal plant and drivers' hostel but by the 1960s, steam was on the decline and the depot closed in 1968. The Nature Reserve opened in 1987 but silver birch trees, which thrive on poor soil, had already begun to seed themselves before then. Other trees such as ash and oak are now colonising the site, providing habitats for sparrows, bluetits and finches. These small birds are prey for sparrow hawks that can often be seen hunting in the area. This cache has been placed with the kind permission of Carlisle City Council Countryside Section. It is possible to visit our other 4 caches near by,