RAIL fans are being offered the chance to travel the Settle to Carlisle line this weekend.

Green Express and North-East Railtours are running a diesel-hauled special train on Saturday and Sunday.

The Saturday train serves Morpeth, Cramlington, Newcastle and Hexham and follows the Tyne Valley and Settle to Carlisle line with a five-hour break at York. On Sunday, it will call at Newcastle, Chester-le-Street, Durham and Darlington before joining the line, which was saved from closure in the 1980s.

It will stop at Ribblehead Viaduct and spend three hours in Carlisle before returning on the Tyne Valley line.

Tickets cost £31 for adults, £26 for children. Call (01484) 422920 (daytime) or 0191-252 3774 (evenings).