Summer Book OUT NOW!
All About Trees . . . 

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A special edition reflecting the community’s deep love and concern for trees around the North York Moors.

This part of the North York Moors National Park is perhaps better known for its heather moorland managed for grouse shooting than its trees, but the valleys are often wooded and it is here, up to the moor edges, where a collective effort is going on to address climate change and the decline in nature. Volunteers, landowners and the National Park are planting trees to replace those lost through disease, and to extend woodlands and create havens for wildlife.
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The book features inspirational tree planting projects, including the National Park’s tree and wetland scheme around the River Esk to improve water quality and create a habitat supporting a diverse range of species, one of which is the river’s rare freshwater pearl mussels. 

Other articles reveal echoes of past human activity in local woodlands. Ancient lime coppices near Loftus are reminders of sustainable forestry methods used to extract fuel and construction materials for homes, mining and industry; alders and sycamores in Glaisdale’s Arncliffe woods once provided the clogs for Victorian farm and factory workers. Historical documents relating to Danby’s Park Wood confirm its use as a medieval deer park. The wood surviving today is a remnant of the extensive woodland in this region 800 years ago.

In more recent history, a mixed conifer forest at the head of Danby Dale, planted by the Macmillan publishing family in 1900, is now a haven for wildlife thanks to generations of careful management by members of Botton village’s original Camphill community. Not far away, the national forests of Dalby, Cropton and Langdale have long been nurtured for wildlife and biodiversity, offering the public a supreme opportunity to get close to nature. 

Yet more varied contributions include an old wood with flora typical of ancient woodland near Ingleby Greenhow, long-lost historic fruit varieties grown in an orchard at Ryedale Folk Museum, a secret botanical garden offering organic teas, and the remarkable village trees ‘Adam and Eve’, two aged oaks growing side by side for centuries outside Glaisdale. 

Along with practical information, including advice for tree planting and how to source logs from sustainably managed forestry, there are woodland walks, stories, poems, paintings and photographs from local people who have spent their lives loving trees. 

The book, while celebrating trees around the North York Moors, serves as a reminder – as the old Chinese proverb goes – that the best time to plant a tree is 30 years ago, and the second best is now! 

All About Trees (128 pages, full colour) is published by Esk Valley News. For sale in local shops for £3.50, or online (see our store page) for £6 inc. p&p.
Community magazine for the Esk Valley, North York Moors and Whitby coastal 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'
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Esk Valley, Whitby, North York Moors Events & Activities.
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Buying the Magazine at Local Shops

Printed copies of the monthly Esk Valley News magazine (£1.50) or the Special Edition book All About Trees (£3.50) are available at local shops/cafes listed below, or you can order copies from our online store.
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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  

July and August Skylights

Early July sees ‘nights’ at their lightest and it’s not until near the end of the month that evenings gradually begin to draw back in once again. Until then, anyone venturing outside as dusk falls will notice only a handful of visible stars.  [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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