Published at 16:24, Friday, 14 September 2012

TREVOR Stockton reckons he has the best workplace in the world.

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For more than four decades, the 58-year-old’s life has revolved around the seven mile stretch of rail from Ravenglass to Eskdale.

The beautiful scenery and alluring steam engines captivated him as a young lad in 1961 when on holiday with his parents from Lancaster.

Mr Stockton began volunteering at the railway in the late ‘60s before eventually securing a job as a guard in 1973.

He went on to drive the engines before taking the position of maintenance foreman and finally the railway’s general manager in 2010.

“I think it’s the uniqueness of the railway and the environment that it runs in,” he said.

“It’s in a beautiful part of the Lake District and if you’re interested in steam engines and railways, you can’t go wrong.”

Last weekend, Mr Stockton’s long-standing links to the area were featured as part of the Western Lakes’ Heritage Open Days in which 34 historic sites along the coast were opened up to the public.

Thousands of visitors flocked to attractions such as the Millom Discovery Centre and Millom Rock Park during the four-day event.

A portrait of Mr Stockton, who lives in Seascale with his wife Ruth, was taken by photographer Florence Acland and displayed as part of the exhibition.

Mark Holroyd, the tourism development officer for South Copeland Tourism, hailed the open days as an outstanding success.

“Overall, we’ve been pleased with Heritage Open Days this year,” he said. “Many of the events had great attendance and we had some new and exciting events such as a seafood factory open afternoon, beach games and a Romans in Ravenglass talk.

“I met lots of visitors from outside the area while touring the venues, including a couple from Manchester who visited Millom for the day to enjoy the event, and many visitors staying in the area on holiday.

“The event is relatively inexpensive to put on and is great for local people to engage with their heritage. It couldn’t take place without the generosity of volunteers who give up their time.”

Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk