In our May 2021 issue...

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This month we remember HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in pictures courtesy of RAF Fylingdales.
   If ever there was a museum that takes you through a time warp, it’s Glaisdale’s Museum of Victorian Science. For the past 20 years Tony Swift and his remarkable collection of scientific apparatus have enchanted and educated visitors – all in the confines of a 12-foot-square room resembling Frankenstein’s laboratory! If you haven’t visited already we can heartily recommend it.
   If that isn’t curious enough, Arncliffe takes on a whole new light in two gothic tales written by Chris Firth, Tammy Naylor’s atmospheric short story ‘Figurehead’ touches the heart of Whitby and the mystery of Sea Bishops reemerges thanks to an exhibit in Whitby Museum.
   There’s an ‘opening up’ feeling in the air... Spring and Summer events are rolling onto the agenda – exhibitions, workshops, theatre and festivals. Some are even ‘in person’ – Covid rules permitting of course.
Enjoy the beautiful month of May, 

Nicola & Pascal
Local magazine
for the Esk Valley, North York Moors
​and Whitby area
'A very well produced magazine teeming with local information.' – Nicholas Rhea, whose books inspired the TV series Heartbeat
'... a slice of life in the Esk Valley, Whitby and North York Moors National Park'
What's On?
Esk Valley, Whitby, North York Moors Events & Activities.
Reviews...
‘Teeming with local information...’
'Extremely important  
publication...'

Buying the Magazine during Covid-19

Printed copies of Esk Valley News magazine are available this month at Danby Health Shop, Lealholm Shop, Lealholm Service Station & Post Office, Glaisdale Shop, Grosmont Co-op, Grosmont Bookshop, The Dispensary on Whitby's Skinner Street, Lythe Community Shop and Goathland PO... We also plan to deliver copies to local bookshops when they re-open. If you can't get to a shop, you can order printed (or digital) copies via the Store on this website... or call us on 01947 897945 and we can send you a copy.

Local Covid-19 Support Groups

Stronger Together Whitby District
Stronger Together Danby, Ainthorpe & Fryup
Stronger Together Castleton
Glaisdale Community Group
Ley Hall Lealholm
Goathland Village News

Other Support for Vulnerable People:
Esk Moors Caring Ltd – 01287 669357
Debbie Swales, Revival North Yorkshire – 07970 955407  

Beginner's Guide To Video Calling

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The social-distancing and self-isolation measures necessarily brought in to deal with the Coronavirus come with the risk of increased loneliness and psychological as well as physical isolation. That in itself can of course prove harmful, so it is fantastic that we live at a time when very simple technology can be harnessed to counter the potential negative effects of the anti-Coronavirus measures.
  Staying in touch by Video Calls (known as Video Conferencing or VC) on your computer or smartphone is one way of helping to alleviate loneliness - no matter how far apart you are from friends and loved-ones. You may never have used such technology before, and fear that such technology is ‘beyond you’ or that you will be unable to make it work. Thankfully, there are Video Call platforms out there which are very simple to install, and intuitive to use. This article and the step-by-step guide will help you to get started.  [ Read more ]

May Skylights

Constellation recognition becomes increasingly tricky as we head deeper into May: late evenings grow ever lighter and the hours of darkness become hours of semi-darkness.   [Read more from Mark Dawson ]
PICK OF THE PAST

Shackleton Bridge, Danby

‘Shackleton Bridge, Danby’, John Freeman’s beautiful painting on the cover of the October 2020 issue, is from his book Meander Down the Esk – which continues to sell well!  The picture also appears in local historian Alastair Laurence’s new book Danby: Three Views of a History, now on sale and full of fascinating facts about the people of Danby Castle and surrounding farms, the ministers of Danby and the development of Ainthorpe. 

​Memories of a Wartime Signaller 

​The most impressive contribution to the recent D-Day 75th Anniversary celebrations were those of the surprisingly large number of survivors. Their personal memories gave reality and validity to the whole event. Few readers of Valley News may have realised that Glaisdale has its own survivor in the person of Mary Heron, who was a fully trained Signaller during the War. In Glaisdale she is chiefly known for her farming at Bank House and for the ‘Glaisdale Singers’, the choir she created and conducted for some thirty years.  Her wartime stories are serialised in the July–September 2019 issues of the magazine.

Land of Iron

A three-part series published in Esk Valley News magazine introduces readers to an exciting project in the Esk Valley and North York Moors National Park to preserve the Victorian ironstone landscape. From 1830 to 1930 the area was a thriving hub of mining industry. 'This Exploited Land of Iron' aims to record, conserve and improve the historic and natural beauty of remains that are slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Alice's Adventures in Whitby

Lewis Carroll’s famous book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first published on 4 July 1865. Born Charles Lutwidge Dogson, Lewis Carroll visited Whitby in 1854 as a 22-year-old student of Christ Church College, Oxford. He stayed at number five East Terrace (now La Rosa Hotel) and lodged there on another six occasions, the last time being in 1871. On one of his visits he was seen sitting on a rock on the beach telling stories to young listeners. It is thought that ideas for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and his poem ‘The Walrus And The Carpenter’ (in the sequel book Through The Looking Glass) were inspired by his walks around the town and along Whitby beach. 

Exhibition Highlight 

John Freeman’s exhibition marking 50 years as a professional artist in Whitby (1969–2019) was held at the Pannett Art Gallery in Whitby in November and December 2019. John estimates that over 50 years he has created more images of this area (original and print form) than any other living artist, an estimated 20,000 in total. 

Whitby & District War Memorial Cottage Hospital 

As plans progress for the refurbishment and part-demolition of Whitby Hospital, Joyce Stangoe of the Whitby Civic Society reminds us that the first hospital on the site was built as a War Memorial following the First World War, funded by donations from the people of Whitby and surrounding villages. Can you help in a project to gather information on the hospital’s history and people lost through war?  ​

Lythe's Link to Beethoven

Two hundred years ago, in the Spring of 1818, a Broadwood grand piano arrived at the home of Beethoven in a village near Vienna. It was a gift from Broadwood & Sons of London.
   Today, the Broadwood company continues to make, tune and repair pianos at its rural craft workshops in Lythe near Whitby. The firm has held a Warrant for the supply and maintenance of pianos to the various Royal Households since the reign of George II, and can name among its illustrious customers the composers Haydn, Chopin, Brahms, Liszt, Elgar, Holst and Vaughan Williams.
​   Present-day directors of the company, which is an independent enterprise, include three members of the Laurence family, whose ancestors worked for many generations in a technical capacity in John Broadwood & Sons’ Soho factory. 
   We are fortunate to have such an illustrious company on our doorsteps offering skills honed over generations in piano tuning and manufacture.  
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