Dent Station is known as the highest working railway station in the country at 1,150ft above sea level but for one particular Second World War American air crew it has some very special memories indeed.

The station is currently up for sale at £280,000, but for that aircrew back in the 40s the station will forever remain priceless.

For returning home from a bombing mission one night they got lost in the fog and their plane ploughed into the fell side at the rear of the station.

One of the crew died, but the rest somehow managed to find their way through the mist and the rain to the station house after a nightmare trek across the desolate moorland some 1,700ft above sea level at its highest point on the narrow, winding road that cuts through from Dent to Garsdale.

"One of the crew came back to take some pictures several years ago," said the current owner of Dent Station, Neil Ambrose. "He said he was amazed that it was still here!"

Maybe it would not have been had it not been for the time, effort and money put into lovingly restoring the place by Mr Ambrose.

"I bought it for £13,500 back in 1985. It was an absolute giveaway," said Mr Ambrose. "People said I was mad though because they reckoned it wasn't worth half that.

"The place had gone to auction, but didn't reach its reserve price. People weren't even prepared to pay £5,000 for it.

"The walls were OK, but the roof was letting in water and the external windows and doors had been damaged. There wasn't much vandalism, but the place was in a state of disrepair."

Over the years Mr Ambrose ploughed around £200,000 into restoring the property and it now has central heating powered by a solid fuel burning Rayburn fire. There is no double glazing and the only mains supply is the electricity, but a lot of the original fixtures and fittings have been restored and there is a separate listed building that is also included in the price.

That is known as the Snowhouse because it was used to house workers brought up to ensure the line was kept free of snow during the heavy winters in the past.

"It accommodated around 15-20 people and part of it was also used by general workers on the line throughout the year. There were plans to demolish it, so it was listed to protect it, not so much because of its architectural beauty but because of what it had been used for in the past," said Mr Ambrose.

"There has been quite a bit of interest in the station," Mr Ambrose added. "We've had between 15 to 20 sets of people coming to have a look around.

"The problem is sorting out the ones who are serious about buying the station. Obviously, it would help if the person was a railway enthusiast, but they would need to be reasonably self-sufficient because there aren't thousands of local experts around here.

"A four-wheel drive might help too as the hill leading up to the station is a one in four gradient and has a couple of tricky hairpin bends too, just for good measure!" added Mr Ambrose.

Dent Station is being sold by Bairstow Eves. Interested parties should contact John Harrison on 015242-62044.