About Us

The Parish Church of St. Leonard is only 48 feet long and twenty feet wide. The number of visitors it welcomes is out of all proportion to its size. The church building is set in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and many walkers, cyclists, climbers, cavers, and passers-by call in.

Another group of people who regularly visit the church are those interested in the Settle/Carlisle Railway. Around 1870 work began on the Ribblehead viaduct and Blea Moor tunnel. Over 200 men, women, and children, from the shanty towns which sprang up, died through accident and disease. These are buried in the quiet churchyard, and plaques in the church and the churchyard commemorate them.

Visitors comment on the sense of peace and tranquility which they find in this lovely spot.

Various books about the history of the church, and its connection with the railway, are for sale within the church.

Please note that in severe weather services may be cancelled at short notice.