It was 1967 and I was 15, hitching from London to Glasgow to see a friend. I got to Kendall and couldn't get a lift so decided that I could walk to Penrith overnight. I didn't know Shap Fell was in my way. By the time I got to the top I was in a full tilt blizzard wearing only a shirt and thin jacket. Fortunately there was a road workman's hut in a layby right on the top and I spent the night trying to keep warm by occasionally lighting a page of the newspaper I found in there. The next day I trudged down through the snow to a garage where a policeman who had managed to struggle up to there tore me a terrible strip off for being such a fool then drove me down into Shap where I breakfasted on a packet of crisps. I have never forgotten that experience so this film brought back some incredible memories. Thank You.
I remember my dad overtaking a line of lorries down hill 1 in 7 in out Austin A40 sports car. Exciting. Later my career took me to Shap for 6 months so Shap has a special place in my memory.
My, this brings back a few memories of the days of Truck driving. I wish I had 10 bob for every trip up and down shap. First has a drivers mate then has a Class 1 driver, before all this HGV nonsenses came about where your daily trips up and down the country were recorded in your Logbook by the driver. I did have one or two adventurous trips up and down Shap. One in particular was when I worked for a Furniture removal firm in Bury Lancashire, I was returning from Gourock in Scotland with a family's possessions in my furniture van going down shap, when the brakes started acting up and where not working properly and not slowing me down as they should, at one point it got rather hairy but managed to get down to the jungle and get assistance, it seems my brake cylinder had a hairline crack in it and it would open up when put under pressure, but we managed to get down ok, I have read most if not all the post's on here but I have not see anyone mention the Sunnters, these were wagons owed by a local to shap who had welded Gurders along the front of a few of his lorrys fixed to the chassis of the vehicles and if you had a very heavy load you could prebook one of theses shunnters to give you a push up shap. I did see them myself quite a few times pushing wagons up shap.
Great to see the Albion lorries again , anyone else notice the Gardner Engines badge on the front ? slow revving manchester engines that would just pull the side of an house straight out , all gone now , I have never seen so much wool in transit , it,s now almost worthless , not worth shearing off , & the money for it certainly won,t pay for it to be shorn off , but then , it was one of THE fibres man needed alongside cotton , & for the shepherds , the wool cheque used to pay the rent on their tenanted farms , so the wool lorry driver was always quietly treated with respect . A snapshot back at a bygone era , I,ve never driven Shap , so it,s now on my bucket list , thanks & best regs .
My 1st time on a motorway was down the M6 with a caravan on tow back in '75, we were headed for Keswick. As we were climbing a hill, there was a police van traveling very slowly on the inside lane with an artic fully loaded with round steel bars coming up behind it just as i was overtaking it. The wagon put his indicator on to pass the slow police van so I eased out partially into the 3rd lane to save the artic having to go down through the gears. Aye, the copper pulled me up for my good deed. (I didnt know at the time the 3rd lane was out of bounds for trailers etc). £45.00 fine and 3 penalty points that cost me way back then!! To cap it all off, because of what happened, I missed my turning for Keswick and finished up going all the way past Shap, turning off and heading back up over the old A6, through Shap and on over the scenic route to Keswick. Having seen this video, my next journey 'back hame' will see me take the same route again as I haven't been back that way since the summer of '75. Thank you for jogging my memory, great video.
Great road used to come down it every Monday in my wagon n drag tip Carlisle and down to kendal....much preferred this route to the boring m6....needed your witts about ya !!
hi thx for memories my father worked at hudsons enginering at sandside many times he went up shap to fix or recover broken down lorries this was bk in the 60s before the m6 was built i had many a meal in the jungle cafe sadly now gone
What a brilliant video. I felt quite emotional!! I remember it well from the 1950’s. My Dad was from Whitehaven and from Cheshire, we used to visit the relatives a few times a year, going over Shap in an old pre war Morris 8. I well remember the lorries grinding their way up Shap at walking pace and also the Leyland Clock and Jungle Cafe. Happy Days Roy W
My father in law was a BRS driver who worked this route. His daughter, now my wife, used to travel with him during the holidays, so your film was of great interest to her.
So nostalgic to see this. I remember holidays when dad would stop the Old Ford Prefect before a long hill such as Shap, or Telegraph Hill near Exeter and various Welsh mountain passes. There was a final check of water while we waited for the car to cool off ready for the big climb. Later as we climbed Radiators would sometimes overheat, brakes would fade on long descents and you held your breath every time the engine slowed and needed the gear changed down with a double de clutch. Why I feel so nostalgic is difficult to say. The old petrol pumps, the greasy spoon transport cafes, the sound of sheep bleating when you stopped in a lay-bye. It all felt like a huge adventure in the early 6os.
My grandad had the answer - when required , he would turn the car round and go up backwards as the reverse gear was the lowest (going back a good few years!)
the first Atkinson was the first long hall lorry I drove from Swansea to London it took nine hours drive at the old A48 there was no seven bridge then and had to go through Chepstow Oxford, and finally into London. I noticed in the movie video that roping and sheeting was immaculate, you don’t see that these days you would take a lot of pride in knowing that your load was secure. The second Atkinson was on display in London motor show. I finally got to drive one two years later and this is in 1960 the old Atkinson. We used to carry a small plank and put it on the engine to the door frame then have a piece of sponge and use it as a bed to have a half an hour break. this was the good old days when you broke down on the side of the road that there would be another truck shortly coming up behind you to see if you were okay, once the seven bridge was built it was the quick on the dead, nobody would stop to help you. thank you for the memories. Ray Jay now living in New Zealand age 84
Just amazing how these old vehicles kept moving with their various loads.I well remember being driven through the night in the '50s by my father from North Devon to his parents near Moffat. The Jungle cafe was an essential stop! On board were my mother and two brothers,a sister and our nan.
As I child in the 50s n 60s used to hear my Father talking about ‘Shap’ and the extreme hills to get there. I only remember going Shap way once and it was a definite ‘will we make it journey’, like ‘The Horseshoe Pass’ going to north Wales. Thank you.
Loved this documentary. I must have gone over Shap many times in the mid to late 60's. But seeing this now is probably far more interesting because of the time that has passed since the documentary was made, and at least 50 years since I was there.
Shap bank got the better of me when M6 was shut because of snow and I was in a Army Land Rover first time I had experienced a white out.Trucked up and down it many times when driving for BRS having a night out in Kendal, and parked up in the lay-by north side of shap many times and cycled to Hawes water always carried a bike on my lorry in the summer.Unfortunately the Jungle cafe had gone when I left the army and started with BRS in 79,really enjoyed the video many thanks.
This reminded me of my dad driving our family on holidays in the 1950's before motorways. Weeks before setting out he'd write to the AA for a journey planner. The AA would post back a detailed turn-by-turn route on stapled sheets. Each sheet consisted of a strip map perhaps between two town centres showing landmarks - pubs, cross roads, AA/RAC phone boxes, etc. - and road numbers. The middle pages were standard copies taken from their files but the first and last pages would be modified to start from your home address and finish at your specific destination. The whole sheaf could be turned over to show the return route printed and drawn on the backs of the sheets.
What a wonderful film, it brought back so many memories for me , my dad drove for SJ Barge in Caton and drove over Shap many a time in his Seddon Atkinson Lorry, me as a young lad sat in the cab trying to listen to him talk ha ha. you cant hear much for the noise of the engine so you lip read most of the time. thank you for showing this.
I cycled over Shap summit doing John O'Groats - Land's End. Always remember staying a night in The Bulls Head Inn in Shap village. The weather was pretty grim up over there and that was in May.
This is a wonderful look back at a truly special time in England's history. Looking at the very familiar scenery, my heart skips a beat. Thank you for producing and sharing.
In the late 70s early 80s my dad in a HGV delivered around Cumbria, I went with him as he had a double sleeper cab, Still roping and sheeting even then. This is fantastic footage going right back. His Dad drove throughout WW2 and was regular to Faslane so would have known this route at the worst of times. Thanks
Well done to the makers of this super documentary. It evokes so many memories of travelling this road, from a child enroute Morecambe from Carlisle for our annual holiday and breaking down at shap . This happened more than once in dads old car, then later hitchhiking to Barrow in Furness to see mates at leat one a month. Recall standing out side the jungle cafe a few times trying to hitch a lift. Who was to know that later I actually had a house just by the greyhound inn when I had an office at the shap quarry formally known as Harrison’s lime. I live on the south coast now but remember the times on this road and in Shap with fondness
Great video. I had this on DVD years ago. My Grandad was HGV driver & Shap was notorious for the weather. Now, it’s a great driving road but hard work on a Bicycle.
What a great video. We talk of vehicles being “underpowered” these days in a relative sort of way, meaning that other road-users are better powered. In the 50s the term often meant that it could not cope with the long hills, characteristic of that time. My Grandad was a 40s and 50s lorry driver, who used to reverse up some hills because that gear was often much lower than forward 1st …. and was easier to engage pre-synchromesh.
Thank you for that. Travelled over Shap numerous times with my Father in the 60s, but now living in the Canadian Prairies, so fully accustomed to winter snow. Was at school with the son of the family who ran Hudsons from Sandside, a company who ran recovery trucks. He had horrifying tales of accidents which they attended on Shap Fell.
thanks. what a beautiful place. dad used to tell me stories about Shap and others from his days of tramping artics back in the 60s. some right tales ill tell ya! cheers now.
What a fabulous well edited film. Thankyou so much i thoroughly enjoyed the memories. When i took part in club car rallies in the sixties we once finished at the Shap Wells Hotel.
Brilliant video I enjoyed every minute , the scenery of the Fells really is magnificent , and old style Trucks with metal bumpers, ! not a silly bit of plastic an inch above the road as it is now days, the growl of those engines, modern day stuff cant really compare, And decent friendly people all with an interesting story to tell, why cant modern day truck driving be how all this was, people had time for one and other. No wonder there are so many unfilled truck driving job vacancies these days.
Today's drivers wouldn't put up with the conditions we used to and rightly so with hot stinking cabs, roping and sheeting with heavy tarps I'm the pouring rain, it was a awful job. Put away the rose tinted spectacles, it's much better now.
Thoroughly enjoyed watching that not too far away from me in the Durham area but must try getting over there now I’m a biker. What a lovely piece of historic filming capturing the stories of the old travelers and residents. She’s certainly right about neighbours there’s not many in my little cul-de-sac that even say hello. Thanks for sharing
great video scott, as a youth growing up in kendal in the 80's , the run down from the plough inn to kendal was used rather recklessley by many, as a test track for many a mini 1275GT, escort 1600 sport, XR2/XR3 etc i always remember my parents telling me cooper house which is just off the A6 at selside was famous for being bombed by a german plane during WW2 as it mistook it for the mainline station
My dad drove for Hague Transport in the 50s and 60s. He drove over Shap in his Thames Trader, Dodge and several Atkinsons. Told me plenty of stories of incidents over Shap. Wish he was alive to have seen this wonderful video. Thankyou.
Thank you for this wonderful film. Dad was a lorry driver, started with horses hauling sand and seaweed off the beach in Leith, had his HGV by the time he was 16 pre ww11. Worked for BRS from their Eastfield terminus, but my memories are from the days he ran fish. I was born in 1953 and was truck nuts from the get go. I would spend summers driving him around the bend begging him to take me with him. I recall one summer possibly 63, while he drove for I believe was Payton who was the transport arm of Walter Payton Trawler owners. That summer which was probably a normal occurrence they where fishing off the west coast of Scotland, and the trawlers where unloading at Ardrossan in Ayrshire. I’ll skip the details about that process of unloading the fish, but there would be four or five lorries assigned to various fish markets in the uk with the catch. Being I was about 10 years old please excuse me if I didn’t get the model of the lorry right, but it was an AEC Mercury ? It was an Artic pulling a BTC aluminum decked 4 in line ? ( the tires where side by side, and each set of 2 pivoted independent of the other set of 2. It must have been difficult to service the inner two tyres ). Anyway, coming out of Ardrossan was an unusual occurrence for me as we usually ran east coast roads when going south of the border. The two trips I recall, the first one we ran was the the fish market in Grimsby, the second trip was to Hull. I’m not sure if we went over Beattock Summit, or Shap, but I do recall the long drags up the hill where it was an opportunity for me to get rid of the two bottles of Pepsi Cola I drank before we left Ardrossan by opening the door and relieving myself while the lorry pawed it’s way up the hill at a crawl. Speaking of doors and coach built cabs, if you’ve ever seen the BRS documentary They Drive the Highroad, about the four drivers running bagged cement up to a dam site in the highlands, the interior shot of one of the drivers, the space between the drivers door, and the door frame, birds could fly in and out through there ! I owned 2 cab over Kenworths that had doors like that ! Anyway this life ended shortly after by Dec 65 when we emigrated to Southern Ontario Canada. Dad got off the road, and ended his working career as a crane operator at the local power station. When I finished high school I severed my apprenticeship at the regional Cummins Diesel dealership. As soon as I got my ticket I was out of there, and started driving in 76. By 78 I bought my first KW - 100 C ( used 76 ) and in 82 bought a new KW -100 V.I.T.. I drove that truck all over North America including The Yukon and North West Territories for 26 years. Gave up being an owner operator in 2006, and started driving company trucks. I’m still at it today, but quite fittingly in my opinion I’m on my last highway trip. As I write this I’m in Edmonton Alberts. I’ll be home in 6 days, ( listen to Dave Dudley’s or better yet Taj Mahals version of Six Days on the Road. ) I’m going to take up a bit of local work to keep my hand in, but at 70 years of age it’s time to pursue other interests like keeping the Mrs happy. One commonality though, whether it’s the 1960’s up on Shap, Beattock, Rogers Pass, or out in the Canadian prairies, winter’s still a bitch. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share their memories. Ps there is another film that was sponsored by C.A.V. ( fuel systems ) They Drive By Night, about fish lorries driving south from Aberdeen. Cheers !
As a career railwayman I guess the magic word Shap flagged this up(!) First I thought "Oh God, just stuff for lorry cranks", but hey what a brilliant documentary of our social history that often doesn't get aired. Funny how things age - I had imagined it was made in early/ mid 90s but astonished to see it was as recent as 2005. Thanks.
Around the time this was filmed i drove this road daily as I lived in Penrith and worked for a garage in Windermere. Sideways travelling down the hill in winter wasnt an uncommon experience! Being in a garage van i was usually let through behind a snowplow when it closed, which wasnt that often in reality.
So nostalgic to see the old lorries, buses and cars. Almost every time I drive down the M6 nowadays and see the sign for Shap, it reminds me of many a hold up there on our way south in the 1960s caused by slow or broken down lorries. Sometimes I think I should deviate by that route for nostalgia but always find myself in too much of a hurry to get somewhere else to bother.
Wonderful film, I know every inch of that road. The film did not stress how harsh the winter weather is up there on the summit, especially so back in the 1940's, 50's and 60's when winters could see much heavier snow than recent times. I wouldn't fancy walking in bad weather from the summit to Shap!. 😂
My Aunt and Uncle used to live in Lowther village , we used to visit a few times a year from Wrexham ,going up Sharp when we were kids back in the 50`s 60`s was always a break from the norm
This was nice to see. I remember hearing about diesel freezing going over Shap on the motorway. I used to go to Shap when going to Scotland by motorbike on holiday about 15 years back. It was a nice break from travelling I think 2016 was the last time and I went to Selkirk. I'd get off the motorway onto the A6, it's still a good road with 40/50 mph on a lot of it, and call at a cafe in Shap village.
if you took the filler cap of the tank it looked like a waxy greasy green dildo you knew it was freezing cos your top speed went down and down the colder it got
Been there done that, spent best part of 3 days at the Jungle, police closed road would not let any HGV's any further. and after you had to start a frozen diesel. Light a fire under diesel tank and have a burning torch around the fuel lines. Happy Daize. But, like was said, you could ALWAYS get help from other Drivers if you had a problem.
Did the run from Manchester to Carlisle a couple of times back in the late '60s, driving an AEC Militant towing a 2 ton Sentinel trailer - both loaded to the gunwhales with Chieftain power packs!
From 1961 we travelled on a Ribble Gay Hostess Leyland Atlantean double decker luxury bus (X30 Manchester - Glasgow) and alighted at Crawford, where we got a local coach to Wanlockhead. Shap was a high point with the Leyland Motors clock.
In the early 60's when I was a wee bairn we moved from Scotland to Wiltshire, by the late 60's we came back home several times, once when dad had an MG Magnette and then a Wolsley 16/60, he was always quite concerned about driving up the Shap going north.
People used to mark their route by transport cafés. When it was far from certain that a vehicle would make it over the top, or worse, down the other side safely, cafés were a kind of refuge. A bit of civilisation is a hostile environment.
I remember talking to the BRS drivers at the depot in Bathgate, West Lothian & listening to them talk about coming over Shap in the dead of night with a bucket of cold water & a sponge to keep them awake.
Dad was a lorry driver in the forties after the war, I went with him on a few deliveries. One was to Glasgow took about 9 hours, from near Manchester. Stayed in a Bed and Breakfast overnight. For tea they brought us green porridge, I passed out and Dad had to carry me up to bed.
The transport cafe at Shap was called The Jungle, I think. The day the M6 opened it emptied. We once stayed b and b with the lady who wound the Shap clock.
was this filmed in the 90s. them trucks are empty and still struggling up shap could only imagine them fully loaded. Specially going back down with vacuum brakes.
Much as I've enjoyed watching regular footage from of work on the new stand I think once every 4-7 days would be fine now. Not enough happening or left outside for frequent videos.
About 1980, I was driving an already-aged Bedford RL in convoy, on exercise with the Territorial Army; our route to Scotland took us over Shap. The head gasket failed, and it made a dreadful racket. At the next stop, I told our sergeant, who listened briefly and declared that the exhaust had blown, and I should keep going and not make a fuss. Who was I to argue and get myself put on a charge? By the next stop, the poor old thing was struggling with hills; and for the rest of the journey she needed a lot of nursing just to keep going. By the time we got to our destination, the REME ASM looked aghast as I pulled in, called me all sorts of unkind things, and the next morning, a towing wagon arrived to take her away.
growing up in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne all of the granite cobbles came from Shap and by christ there were millions of them most still buried there. All the kerb stones came from Shap some with the Shap name chiseled into them and worth a small fortune now.
It was the eight-wheelers of the '50s and '60s that turned me into a juniot truckaholic, so much so that I took to the road in the mid-'70s, and have never regretted a minute of it even in retirement. I used to travel Britain in a day-cabbed 180 Gardner without all the 21st century sophistication, tachos that can be downloaded by DVLA without the driver even knowing and, worst of all, four-on-four-off, what sort of truck driving is that? The profession has been ruined and will be ruined even more if (not when) battery power replaces diesel.
I used to drive them old trucks roping sheeting they were cold in the winter hot in the summer you could see the road through the brake pedals no power steering was always dirty ,best thing to happen was when volvo scania started bring there trucks to uk thats all you wanted not a british truck.
The people who drool over those old trucks obviously never had to drive them. Not only did icy draughts come through the pedal holes, but diesel fumes too. In the summer, you were passing out with heat and fumes in the cab and in the winter you could hardly move with all the clothes you had to wear because the heater was non existent. Like everything else in Britain, we got left behind Europe with truck technology. I remember my first Volvo unit. It was like going from an old banger to a Bentley. It went faster than walking speed, had a heater/de mister that worked and was reliable. Gear changing was slick and positive as opposed to stirring porridge and the brakes actually worked. I’ve still got driving mates from back then and we have a good laugh at the romantic notions people have nowadays about the old days. Get stuck at the back of one of us going over Shap and you’d be calling us every name under the sun.
It makes me sad to see England from the 1960s. Because nowadays it is a cesspit of filth, drugs, guns, knives, gangs and gangstas (YOU ALL KNOW WHAT RACE I MEAN) The old England was decent with decorum and culture.
I really enjoyed watching this, many a trip from Carlisle to Kendal using this route. What a nasty comment you posted, a real spoiler. Keep those worthless opinions to yourself, please.
I married and moved to Newry (Northern ireland) 50 years ago. Shortly after I came here, I met the owner of a local haulage company (Long gone) who had a fleet of Seddon lorries. I mentioned that I had recently gome up Shap Fell. He told me that he had been stopped at the bottom of it by a policeman who had clocked the fully loaded lorry at over 90 mph. Policeman swore at him and said he daren't take him to court because the judge wouldn't believe him. More abuse and told to drive on more slowly. He said that policeman was correct. He had been freewheeling in neutral.
@borderlands6606 For every driver the route was marked out by reference to transport cafes, apart from one driver on the company I worked for who used pubs as his reference! He must have had an arrangement with every publican in the country to park in his car park overnight!
It was 1967 and I was 15, hitching from London to Glasgow to see a friend. I got to Kendall and couldn't get a lift so decided that I could walk to Penrith overnight. I didn't know Shap Fell was in my way. By the time I got to the top I was in a full tilt blizzard wearing only a shirt and thin jacket. Fortunately there was a road workman's hut in a layby right on the top and I spent the night trying to keep warm by occasionally lighting a page of the newspaper I found in there. The next day I trudged down through the snow to a garage where a policeman who had managed to struggle up to there tore me a terrible strip off for being such a fool then drove me down into Shap where I breakfasted on a packet of crisps. I have never forgotten that experience so this film brought back some incredible memories. Thank You.
The glorious trials of youth! Did you get hypothermia and what flavour crisps? 😊
I remember my dad overtaking a line of lorries down hill 1 in 7 in out Austin A40 sports car. Exciting. Later my career took me to Shap for 6 months so Shap has a special place in my memory.
When britain was still great... bless my beloved country❤❤❤
Brings me to tears watching this. Rest in peace Great Britain.
My, this brings back a few memories of the days of Truck driving. I wish I had 10 bob for every trip up and down shap. First has a drivers mate then has a Class 1 driver, before all this HGV nonsenses came about where your daily trips up and down the country were recorded in your Logbook by the driver. I did have one or two adventurous trips up and down Shap. One in particular was when I worked for a Furniture removal firm in Bury Lancashire, I was returning from Gourock in Scotland with a family's possessions in my furniture van going down shap, when the brakes started acting up and where not working properly and not slowing me down as they should, at one point it got rather hairy but managed to get down to the jungle and get assistance, it seems my brake cylinder had a hairline crack in it and it would open up when put under pressure, but we managed to get down ok, I have read most if not all the post's on here but I have not see anyone mention the Sunnters, these were wagons owed by a local to shap who had welded Gurders along the front of a few of his lorrys fixed to the chassis of the vehicles and if you had a very heavy load you could prebook one of theses shunnters to give you a push up shap. I did see them myself quite a few times pushing wagons up shap.
I drove this legendary road 60 years when i was 20 years old...this reminds me of youth when i was full of hope !!!
Great to see the Albion lorries again , anyone else notice the Gardner Engines badge on the front ? slow revving manchester engines that would just pull the side of an house straight out , all gone now , I have never seen so much wool in transit , it,s now almost worthless , not worth shearing off , & the money for it certainly won,t pay for it to be shorn off , but then , it was one of THE fibres man needed alongside cotton , & for the shepherds , the wool cheque used to pay the rent on their tenanted farms , so the wool lorry driver was always quietly treated with respect . A snapshot back at a bygone era , I,ve never driven Shap , so it,s now on my bucket list , thanks & best regs .
My 1st time on a motorway was down the M6 with a caravan on tow back in '75, we were headed for Keswick.
As we were climbing a hill, there was a police van traveling very slowly on the inside lane with an artic fully loaded with round steel bars coming up behind it just as i was overtaking it.
The wagon put his indicator on to pass the slow police van so I eased out partially into the 3rd lane to save the artic having to go down through the gears.
Aye, the copper pulled me up for my good deed. (I didnt know at the time the 3rd lane was out of bounds for trailers etc).
£45.00 fine and 3 penalty points that cost me way back then!!
To cap it all off, because of what happened, I missed my turning for Keswick and finished up going all the way past Shap, turning off and heading back up over the old A6, through Shap and on over the scenic route to Keswick.
Having seen this video, my next journey 'back hame' will see me take the same route again as I haven't been back that way since the summer of '75.
Thank you for jogging my memory, great video.
Great road used to come down it every Monday in my wagon n drag tip Carlisle and down to kendal....much preferred this route to the boring m6....needed your witts about ya !!
hi thx for memories my father worked at hudsons enginering at sandside many times he went up shap to fix or recover broken down lorries this was bk in the 60s before the m6 was built i had many a meal in the jungle cafe sadly now gone
What a brilliant video. I felt quite emotional!! I remember it well from the 1950’s. My Dad was from Whitehaven and from Cheshire, we used to visit the relatives a few times a year, going over Shap in an old pre war Morris 8. I well remember the lorries grinding their way up Shap at walking pace and also the Leyland Clock and Jungle Cafe.
Happy Days Roy W
My father in law was a BRS driver who worked this route. His daughter, now my wife, used to travel with him during the holidays, so your film was of great interest to her.
So nostalgic to see this. I remember holidays when dad would stop the Old Ford Prefect before a long hill such as Shap, or Telegraph Hill near Exeter and various Welsh mountain passes. There was a final check of water while we waited for the car to cool off ready for the big climb. Later as we climbed Radiators would sometimes overheat, brakes would fade on long descents and you held your breath every time the engine slowed and needed the gear changed down with a double de clutch. Why I feel so nostalgic is difficult to say. The old petrol pumps, the greasy spoon transport cafes, the sound of sheep bleating when you stopped in a lay-bye. It all felt like a huge adventure in the early 6os.
The car was never expected to carry such a load on such a steep incline.
My grandad had the answer - when required , he would turn the car round and go up backwards as the reverse gear was the lowest (going back a good few years!)
Shap was a name that conjured mystique and trepidation back in the sixties, and watching this incredible film explains why! Thanks for sharing 👏
the first Atkinson was the first long hall lorry I drove from Swansea to London it took nine hours drive at the old A48 there was no seven bridge then and had to go through Chepstow Oxford, and finally into London. I noticed in the movie video that roping and sheeting was immaculate, you don’t see that these days you would take a lot of pride in knowing that your load was secure. The second Atkinson was on display in London motor show. I finally got to drive one two years later and this is in 1960 the old Atkinson. We used to carry a small plank and put it on the engine to the door frame then have a piece of sponge and use it as a bed to have a half an hour break. this was the good old days when you broke down on the side of the road that there would be another truck shortly coming up behind you to see if you were okay, once the seven bridge was built it was the quick on the dead, nobody would stop to help you. thank you for the memories. Ray Jay now living in New Zealand age 84
Just amazing how these old vehicles kept moving with their various loads.I well remember being driven through the night in the '50s by my father from North Devon to his parents near Moffat. The Jungle cafe was an essential stop! On board were my mother and two brothers,a sister and our nan.
As I child in the 50s n 60s used to hear my Father talking about ‘Shap’ and the extreme hills to get there. I only remember going Shap way once and it was a definite ‘will we make it journey’, like ‘The Horseshoe Pass’ going to north Wales. Thank you.
Loved this documentary. I must have gone over Shap many times in the mid to late 60's. But seeing this now is probably far more interesting because of the time that has passed since the documentary was made, and at least 50 years since I was there.
AWESOME LOVELY FILM
Shap bank got the better of me when M6 was shut because of snow and I was in a Army Land Rover first time I had experienced a white out.Trucked up and down it many times when driving for BRS having a night out in Kendal, and parked up in the lay-by north side of shap many times and cycled to Hawes water always carried a bike on my lorry in the summer.Unfortunately the Jungle cafe had gone when I left the army and started with BRS in 79,really enjoyed the video many thanks.
and the girls that plied there trade on new road car park👍
@soulboy6073
They're still plying their trade; white hair, zimmer frame, no teeth and nearly blind, but their ghosts are still offering a service!
@@soulboy6073
Oooh Matronn!
This reminded me of my dad driving our family on holidays in the 1950's before motorways. Weeks before setting out he'd write to the AA for a journey planner. The AA would post back a detailed turn-by-turn route on stapled sheets. Each sheet consisted of a strip map perhaps between two town centres showing landmarks - pubs, cross roads, AA/RAC phone boxes, etc. - and road numbers. The middle pages were standard copies taken from their files but the first and last pages would be modified to start from your home address and finish at your specific destination. The whole sheaf could be turned over to show the return route printed and drawn on the backs of the sheets.
Wow that’s a great bit of motoring history right there - never knew the AA did this sort of thing.
A very enjoyable video, full of nostalgia. I miss those simpler times.
You did a great job making this video, very professional.
What a wonderful film, it brought back so many memories for me , my dad drove for SJ Barge in Caton and drove over Shap many a time in his Seddon Atkinson Lorry, me as a young lad sat in the cab trying to listen to him talk ha ha. you cant hear much for the noise of the engine so you lip read most of the time. thank you for showing this.
I cycled over Shap summit doing John O'Groats - Land's End. Always remember staying a night in The Bulls Head Inn in Shap village. The weather was pretty grim up over there and that was in May.
Couldn't see a single pothole. How times have changed. 😮
Aww gosh, we used to use that when we visited my Uncle, he lived on the west coast of Scotland a place called Glen Elg, brings back memories.
This is a wonderful look back at a truly special time in England's history. Looking at the very familiar scenery, my heart skips a beat. Thank you for producing and sharing.
Love the escort vehicle in the far distance holding back the 'stragglers' trying to mix it up with the trucks!
In the late 70s early 80s my dad in a HGV delivered around Cumbria, I went with him as he had a double sleeper cab, Still roping and sheeting even then.
This is fantastic footage going right back.
His Dad drove throughout WW2 and was regular to Faslane so would have known this route at the worst of times. Thanks
Well done to the makers of this super documentary. It evokes so many memories of travelling this road, from a child enroute Morecambe from Carlisle for our annual holiday and breaking down at shap . This happened more than once in dads old car, then later hitchhiking to Barrow in Furness to see mates at leat one a month. Recall standing out side the jungle cafe a few times trying to hitch a lift. Who was to know that later I actually had a house just by the greyhound inn when I had an office at the shap quarry formally known as Harrison’s lime. I live on the south coast now but remember the times on this road and in Shap with fondness
Great video. I had this on DVD years ago. My Grandad was HGV driver & Shap was notorious for the weather. Now, it’s a great driving road but hard work on a Bicycle.
What a great video. We talk of vehicles being “underpowered” these days in a relative sort of way, meaning that other road-users are better powered. In the 50s the term often meant that it could not cope with the long hills, characteristic of that time. My Grandad was a 40s and 50s lorry driver, who used to reverse up some hills because that gear was often much lower than forward 1st …. and was easier to engage pre-synchromesh.
Awesome video thanks for your time and consideration have been a. HGV 45years been traveling that road for a long time happy days 😄😄🚛🚛🚛🚛🚛🚛🚛🚛👍
Thank you for that.
Travelled over Shap numerous times with my Father in the 60s, but now living in the Canadian Prairies, so fully accustomed to winter snow.
Was at school with the son of the family who ran Hudsons from Sandside, a company who ran recovery trucks. He had horrifying tales of accidents which they attended on Shap Fell.
What a great story well told. Wonderful to hear from the villagers and drivers. Added to my places to go list
Fabulous historical memories.
thanks. what a beautiful place. dad used to tell me stories about Shap and others from his days of tramping artics back in the 60s. some right tales ill tell ya! cheers now.
What a fabulous well edited film. Thankyou so much i thoroughly enjoyed the memories. When i took part in club car rallies in the sixties we once finished at the Shap Wells Hotel.
Brilliant video I enjoyed every minute , the scenery of the Fells really is magnificent , and old style Trucks with metal bumpers, ! not a silly bit of plastic an inch above the road as it is now days, the growl of those engines, modern day stuff cant really compare, And decent friendly people all with an interesting story to tell, why cant modern day truck driving be how all this was, people had time for one and other. No wonder there are so many unfilled truck driving job vacancies these days.
Today's drivers wouldn't put up with the conditions we used to and rightly so with hot stinking cabs, roping and sheeting with heavy tarps I'm the pouring rain, it was a awful job. Put away the rose tinted spectacles, it's much better now.
Thoroughly enjoyed watching that not too far away from me in the Durham area but must try getting over there now I’m a biker. What a lovely piece of historic filming capturing the stories of the old travelers and residents. She’s certainly right about neighbours there’s not many in my little cul-de-sac that even say hello. Thanks for sharing
i remember my dad talking about his days driving lorries over shap in the 40s/50s. now its a motorway. 70 mph all the way.
Same here
great video scott, as a youth growing up in kendal in the 80's , the run down from the plough inn to kendal was used rather recklessley by many, as a test track for many a mini 1275GT, escort 1600 sport, XR2/XR3 etc
i always remember my parents telling me cooper house which is just off the A6 at selside was famous for being bombed by a german plane during WW2 as it mistook it for the mainline station
My dad drove for Hague Transport in the 50s and 60s. He drove over Shap in his Thames Trader, Dodge and several Atkinsons. Told me plenty of stories of incidents over Shap. Wish he was alive to have seen this wonderful video. Thankyou.
Thank you for this wonderful film. Dad was a lorry driver, started with horses hauling sand and seaweed off the beach in Leith, had his HGV by the
time he was 16 pre ww11. Worked for BRS from their Eastfield terminus, but my memories are from the days he ran fish. I was born in 1953 and
was truck nuts from the get go. I would spend summers driving him around the bend begging him to take me with him. I recall one summer possibly 63, while he drove for I believe was Payton who was the transport arm of Walter Payton Trawler owners. That summer which was probably
a normal occurrence they where fishing off the west coast of Scotland, and the trawlers where unloading at Ardrossan in Ayrshire. I’ll skip the
details about that process of unloading the fish, but there would be four or five lorries assigned to various fish markets in the uk with the catch.
Being I was about 10 years old please excuse me if I didn’t get the model of the lorry right, but it was an AEC Mercury ? It was an Artic pulling a
BTC aluminum decked 4 in line ? ( the tires where side by side, and each set of 2 pivoted independent of the other set of 2. It must have been difficult to service the inner two tyres ). Anyway, coming out of Ardrossan was an unusual occurrence for me as we usually ran east coast roads
when going south of the border. The two trips I recall, the first one we ran was the the fish market in Grimsby, the second trip was to Hull.
I’m not sure if we went over Beattock Summit, or Shap, but I do recall the long drags up the hill where it was an opportunity for me to get rid of the
two bottles of Pepsi Cola I drank before we left Ardrossan by opening the door and relieving myself while the lorry pawed it’s way up the hill at a
crawl. Speaking of doors and coach built cabs, if you’ve ever seen the BRS documentary They Drive the Highroad, about the four drivers running
bagged cement up to a dam site in the highlands, the interior shot of one of the drivers, the space between the drivers door, and the door frame,
birds could fly in and out through there ! I owned 2 cab over Kenworths that had doors like that ! Anyway this life ended shortly after by Dec 65
when we emigrated to Southern Ontario Canada. Dad got off the road, and ended his working career as a crane operator at the local power station. When I finished high school I severed my apprenticeship at the regional Cummins Diesel dealership. As soon as I got my ticket I was out
of there, and started driving in 76. By 78 I bought my first KW - 100 C ( used 76 ) and in 82 bought a new KW -100 V.I.T.. I drove that truck all
over North America including The Yukon and North West Territories for 26 years. Gave up being an owner operator in 2006, and started driving
company trucks. I’m still at it today, but quite fittingly in my opinion I’m on my last highway trip. As I write this I’m in Edmonton Alberts. I’ll be home
in 6 days, ( listen to Dave Dudley’s or better yet Taj Mahals version of Six Days on the Road. ) I’m going to take up a bit of local work to keep my hand in, but at 70 years of age it’s time to pursue other interests like keeping the Mrs happy. One commonality though, whether it’s the 1960’s
up on Shap, Beattock, Rogers Pass, or out in the Canadian prairies, winter’s still a bitch. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share
their memories. Ps there is another film that was sponsored by C.A.V. ( fuel systems ) They Drive By Night, about fish lorries driving south from
Aberdeen. Cheers !
As a career railwayman I guess the magic word Shap flagged this up(!) First I thought "Oh God, just stuff for lorry cranks", but hey what a brilliant documentary of our social history that often doesn't get aired. Funny how things age - I had imagined it was made in early/ mid 90s but astonished to see it was as recent as 2005. Thanks.
Around the time this was filmed i drove this road daily as I lived in Penrith and worked for a garage in Windermere.
Sideways travelling down the hill in winter wasnt an uncommon experience!
Being in a garage van i was usually let through behind a snowplow when it closed, which wasnt that often in reality.
So nostalgic to see the old lorries, buses and cars. Almost every time I drive down the M6 nowadays and see the sign for Shap, it reminds me of many a hold up there on our way south in the 1960s caused by slow or broken down lorries. Sometimes I think I should deviate by that route for nostalgia but always find myself in too much of a hurry to get somewhere else to bother.
Absolutely fascinating - been through there many times but mostly on the railway. Loved the vintage vehicles.
Wonderful film, I know every inch of that road. The film did not stress how harsh the winter weather is up there on the summit, especially so back in the 1940's, 50's and 60's when winters could see much heavier snow than recent times. I wouldn't fancy walking in bad weather from the summit to Shap!. 😂
Very interesting, thanks for posting.
Thank you for this.
Wonderful vehicles & wonderful scenery ❣
Shap was the reason the buses from Glasgow to London always went via Scotch Corner. Finally went over it on a bus in 1971. It was scary.
What a fantastic video , subscribed cheers
Great Video. I'm from Kendal
Thank-you!
Thank you, what a brilliant video.
Well worth watching brilliant video
My Aunt and Uncle used to live in Lowther village , we used to visit a few times a year from Wrexham ,going up Sharp when we were kids back in the 50`s 60`s was always a break from the norm
This was nice to see. I remember hearing about diesel freezing going over Shap on the motorway.
I used to go to Shap when going to Scotland by motorbike on holiday about 15 years back. It was a nice break from travelling I think 2016 was the last time and I went to Selkirk.
I'd get off the motorway onto the A6, it's still a good road with 40/50 mph on a lot of it, and call at a cafe in Shap village.
if you took the filler cap of the tank it looked like a waxy greasy green dildo you knew it was freezing cos your top speed went down and down the colder it got
Very interesting! Thanks!
Absolutely charming. And I do like to see an Atkinson wagon: a transport of delight.
Last Summer we stayed at Shap but a hotel in a dip in a a field .It was a Prisoner of War Camp in World War 2
Been there done that, spent best part of 3 days at the Jungle, police closed road would not let any HGV's any further. and after you had to start a frozen diesel. Light a fire under diesel tank and have a burning torch around the fuel lines. Happy Daize. But, like was said, you could ALWAYS get help from other Drivers if you had a problem.
Did the run from Manchester to Carlisle a couple of times back in the late '60s, driving an AEC Militant towing a 2 ton Sentinel trailer - both loaded to the gunwhales with Chieftain power packs!
I remember driving over the top of shap and descending down into the village , where i found a Fish & Chip shop . Great meal .
From 1961 we travelled on a Ribble Gay Hostess Leyland Atlantean double decker luxury bus (X30 Manchester - Glasgow) and alighted at Crawford, where we got a local coach to Wanlockhead. Shap was a high point with the Leyland Motors clock.
In the early 60's when I was a wee bairn we moved from Scotland to Wiltshire, by the late 60's we came back home several times, once when dad had an MG Magnette and then a Wolsley 16/60, he was always quite concerned about driving up the Shap going north.
Great video
People used to mark their route by transport cafés. When it was far from certain that a vehicle would make it over the top, or worse, down the other side safely, cafés were a kind of refuge. A bit of civilisation is a hostile environment.
I remember talking to the BRS drivers at the depot in Bathgate, West Lothian & listening to them talk about coming over Shap in the dead of night with a bucket of cold water & a sponge to keep them awake.
I've heard of Shap, my nearest visit to it was penrith. Interesting bit of history.
Dad was a lorry driver in the forties after the war, I went with him on a few deliveries. One was to Glasgow took about 9 hours, from near Manchester. Stayed in a Bed and Breakfast overnight. For tea they brought us green porridge, I passed out and Dad had to carry me up to bed.
The transport cafe at Shap was called The Jungle, I think. The day the M6 opened it emptied. We once stayed b and b with the lady who wound the Shap clock.
was this filmed in the 90s. them trucks are empty and still struggling up shap could only imagine them fully loaded. Specially going back down with vacuum brakes.
Much as I've enjoyed watching regular footage from of work on the new stand I think once every 4-7 days would be fine now. Not enough happening or left outside for frequent videos.
Stopped at the jungle in the early sixties for about 24hours in Thames Trader with 10 cows on board from Lanarkshire market
About 1980, I was driving an already-aged Bedford RL in convoy, on exercise with the Territorial Army; our route to Scotland took us over Shap. The head gasket failed, and it made a dreadful racket. At the next stop, I told our sergeant, who listened briefly and declared that the exhaust had blown, and I should keep going and not make a fuss. Who was I to argue and get myself put on a charge?
By the next stop, the poor old thing was struggling with hills; and for the rest of the journey she needed a lot of nursing just to keep going. By the time we got to our destination, the REME ASM looked aghast as I pulled in, called me all sorts of unkind things, and the next morning, a towing wagon arrived to take her away.
when life was good! bless you all
Just on a side note, I used to work at Seddon Atkinson in the late 80's.
A great bunch of blokes in the drawing office.
You probably came across my Dad - Charlie W
Thats a British commercial vehicle museum film
I was thinking that this film was very familiar, and that I had seen it before, so thanks for corroborating my instincts.
growing up in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne all of the granite cobbles came from Shap and by christ there were millions of them most still buried there. All the kerb stones came from Shap some with the Shap name chiseled into them and worth a small fortune now.
Happiness is a warm gardner
well the a6 is now the m6 and the era those old lorries were from was closer in time to this video being made than this video is to us.
Double de-clutching when changing down, going uphill - another dying art, along with roping and sheeting.
I used to Call to a farm machinery place near shap in early 2000's seriously hilly country
It was the eight-wheelers of the '50s and '60s that turned me into a juniot truckaholic, so much so that I took to the road in the mid-'70s, and have never regretted a minute of it even in retirement. I used to travel Britain in a day-cabbed 180 Gardner without all the 21st century sophistication, tachos that can be downloaded by DVLA without the driver even knowing and, worst of all, four-on-four-off, what sort of truck driving is that?
The profession has been ruined and will be ruined even more if (not when) battery power replaces diesel.
I used to drive them old trucks roping sheeting they were cold in the winter hot in the summer you could see the road through the brake pedals no power steering was always dirty ,best thing to happen was when volvo scania started bring there trucks to uk thats all you wanted not a british truck.
The people who drool over those old trucks obviously never had to drive them. Not only did icy draughts come through the pedal holes, but diesel fumes too. In the summer, you were passing out with heat and fumes in the cab and in the winter you could hardly move with all the clothes you had to wear because the heater was non existent. Like everything else in Britain, we got left behind Europe with truck technology. I remember my first Volvo unit. It was like going from an old banger to a Bentley. It went faster than walking speed, had a heater/de mister that worked and was reliable. Gear changing was slick and positive as opposed to stirring porridge and the brakes actually worked.
I’ve still got driving mates from back then and we have a good laugh at the romantic notions people have nowadays about the old days. Get stuck at the back of one of us going over Shap and you’d be calling us every name under the sun.
Great film now itself vintage record of those times. When was it made?
I guessed 1990’s but right at the end after the credits it said 2005
Wonderful speakers and not a single "like".
It makes me sad to see England from the 1960s. Because nowadays it is a cesspit of filth, drugs, guns, knives, gangs and gangstas (YOU ALL KNOW WHAT RACE I MEAN) The old England was decent with decorum and culture.
I really enjoyed watching this, many a trip from Carlisle to Kendal using this route.
What a nasty comment you posted, a real spoiler. Keep those worthless opinions to yourself, please.
Truck drivers sleep in the barn like that
The Atkinson lorry WRB 501 is still around and taxed according to dvla.
It in indeed but its in a different livery now after a crash. The reids leyland octopus is also still on the road.
What is whith all the stairs leading to no where ?
I`m guessing it`s something to do with horses maybe.
mounting blocks from the horse drawn days
I married and moved to Newry (Northern ireland) 50 years ago. Shortly after I came here, I met the owner of a local haulage company (Long gone) who had a fleet of Seddon lorries. I mentioned that I had recently gome up Shap Fell. He told me that he had been stopped at the bottom of it by a policeman who had clocked the fully loaded lorry at over 90 mph. Policeman swore at him and said he daren't take him to court because the judge wouldn't believe him. More abuse and told to drive on more slowly. He said that policeman was correct. He had been freewheeling in neutral.
An Irish fairy tale!
@@atinshed
He neglected to say he was in reverse 😂
Are these vehicles really Vintage?
The atkinson in tennants livery is from 1956 and its atill on the road today (although its had a lot of work after a motorway crash a few years back)
Between C60 & 70 years old, I'd say that was fairly vintage?
@@lauriecooper8194 Am I that old. Oh dear.
Withnail country
Sleddale Hall
The true knights of the road real truckers ,unlike todays HGV drivers that are only passengers in their cabs
@borderlands6606
For every driver the route was marked out by reference to transport cafes, apart from one driver on the company I worked for who used pubs as his reference!
He must have had an arrangement with every publican in the country to park in his car park overnight!