Esk Valley News - Esk Valley News magazine – News, events and places of interest in the Esk Valley and Whitby, North Yorkshire

'A very well produced magazine and teeming with local information.' – Nicholas Rhea, whose books inspired the TV series 'Heartbeat'

... Life in the Esk Valley and North York Moors National Park area

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October 2017 issue...

Farewell to Michael Hazelton

The Esk Valley community bid a fond farewell to Reverend Michael Hazelton at his last service in Danby Church on Sunday 17 September. During Revd Hazelton's twelve-year incumbency he built many local friendships, including with members of the new Esk Valley Camphill Community.

Also in this month's magazine:
The Dale Family Martin Leonard researches the life of William Leonard Dale, who worked with Macmillan, Harold Wilson and Mountbatten and had family in Danby and Westerdale.
Photography Exhibition 'Autumn Mist over Glaisdale' by Peter Leeming features on the front cover. Images by Peter and other renowned photographers are on show at the Inspired by... gallery, Danby.
Soldier Turned Artist Adrian Wright of Glaisdale left the Army early after sustaining an injury and is now making his debut in the art world. See his paintings at the National Park gallery at Danby.
Hidden Valley Project Excavations begin at Easby Motte, a Norman motte castle near Kildale thought to have served as a watch-tower or temporary refuge.
Young Farmers Sunshine, shows, showers and enjoyable outings feature in the Danby group's successful summer programme.
No Such Thing as Tone Deaf Professional opera singer Rachael Cawte from Lealholmside describes her love of singing and encourages everyone else to sing.
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Pick of the Past...

Man On The Moors

‘Seated Figure’, a 3-metre high painted bronze sculpture by Sean Henry, was erected on Castleton Rigg, near Westerdale on the North York Moors, in June this summer. This is the first public sculpture to be placed within the North York Moors National Park. Commissioned by the David Ross Foundation it will stay in place for five years. The artwork is accessible to the public. It stands on top of Castleton Rigg on land owned by David Ross (co-founder of Carphonewarehouse). You can see the sculpture from the Blakey Ridge road from Castleton to Hutton-le-Hole, and reach it by foot: a half-mile walk over moorland from the road. For more information about Sean Henry’s work, see his website: www.seanhenry.com.

Travelling Back in time With Debbie Raw

An exciting future awaits Debbie Raw, a young chef from Fryup who has made a name for herself on the BBC programme ‘Further Back in Time for Dinner’. Debbie won the nation’s hearts while playing the role of a maid in the 1900s.

Beggar's Bridge Players Celebrate 40 Years

Nothing is more effective at welding a small rural community together than a flourishing amateur dramatic society. Glaisdale's Beggar’s Bridge Players are no exception and in February the group took to the stage to celebrate 40 years of performances. With characteristic enthusiasm, the cast entertained the audience at The Robinson Institute for three separate performances of 'Aladdin', ably assisted by local band, The Middle Aged Kicks. The play was directed by Rob Smith and the script was by Dianne Whisker.

Staithes Festival: art, music, heritage, Light Shows and Dark Matter

1812 Theatre Company performing at Helmsley

The fabulous @1812TheatreCo performing in the garden for our wonderful volunteers pic.twitter.com/rJzVjX2Rh3
— Helmsley Arts Centre (@helmsleyarts) July 14, 2016

Tour de Yorkshire in the Esk Valley

The third day of the Tour de Yorkshire 1916, from Middlesbrough to Scarborough, passed through the Esk Valley. Limber Hill at Glaisdale, shown here, proved a tough climb. Finishing first in Scarborough was Frenchman Thomas Voeckler of Team Direct Energie, the overall winner, and Irishman Nicolas Roche of Team Sky a close second in the sprint finish and overall standings.

The Hayshed at Commondale

The Hayshed, a care farming enterprise in Commondale, opened its doors on Sunday 5 June for the 'Open Farm Sunday' event.

St Hilda's Festival Chorus

The Chorus based in Whitby performed Gounod’s St Cecilia Mass and Puccini’s Messa Di Gloria on Saturday 19 March at St Hilda’s Church, West Cliff, Whitby, 7.30 pm.

Broadband speed

The Danby Group Parish Council is acutely aware that not everyone within the Parish and the Esk Valley in general has access to good internet service by way of broadband.

Archbishop Sentamu in Danby

The 9.28 am train on 3 December arriving at Danby was greeted by a large crowd eager to meet the Archbishop of York. His first stop in the local area was Danby's Church of England Primary School, where the Archbishop spoke to the assembled staff and children about the purpose of his pilgrimage.

Moorland Children's Home

Davison Home in Danby, which opened its doors to needy children from Middlesbrough between 1915 and 1984, is the subject of a new book by Colin and Heather Mather.

Getting on Track

On the morning of Saturday 31 October, Goth Weekend in Whitby, track magically appeared along the pier for the first official outing of Morticia, probably the world’s only coffin-carrying velocipede. This extraordinary invention began life at Grosmont's Motive Power Depot.

Dark Night Skies over the Moors

During the dark evenings why not try to seek out an entirely separate galaxy with just the naked eye: the Andromeda Galaxy?
At a distance of 2.65 million light years our sister galaxy is considered the most remote object visible to the unaided eye. In an expanding universe where everything is hurtling away from one another, the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy are slowly edging together, a process that will take four to five billion years, merging around the time our Sun reaches the end of its life. Whether you use the naked eye, binoculars or a telescope to view our ‘near’ galactic neighbour, it is astonishing to reflect that this faint smudge of light emanates from over 300 billion suns arranged in a spiral system spanning some 160,000 light years across. The combined radiance diminished only by a 2.65-million-year journey, a journey that started when our early human ancestors first gazed up at the starry firmament. www.whitby-astronomers.com

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland – 150 years old

Lewis Carroll’s famous book Alice’s Adventures inWonderland was first published 150 years ago, 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.

Tour de Yorkshire excitement in the Esk Valley

Villages up and down the Esk Valley were decorated in blue and yellow for Friday 1 May 2015, the first day of the Tour de Yorkshire cycle race. This photo shows cyclists at Danby (photo © Peter Leeming Photography).

March’s Solar Eclipse

All things considered we were rather fortunate to catch more than a fleeting glimpse of the partial eclipse on 20 March. The forecast did not make for pleasant viewing, but at least from Whitby the cloud fragmented just enough, and at the right time, for the greatest show ‘off earth’ . . .

Saving Junipers on the North York Moors

Peter Woods describes how a simple brief to restore a quarry turned into a quest for juniper. The reasons for the decline of juniper in the North York Moors, and elsewhere, are probably complex, but several are suggested in Peter Woods' article, which can be read here.

Fryupdale caught in Cloud

Peter Leeming, landscape photographer and climber based in Danby, North York Moors, captured this stunning image of Fryupdale.
"Quite often in winter, if we have wind from the south or south west, we get cloud spilling over from the southern Dales into Danby Dale or the Fryupdales. I still seem to miss it, usually by being in the wrong place, though I managed this recent image from the Oakley Walls more by luck than judgement . . ." (photo © Peter Leeming Photography)
As a Biologist by training, a mountaineer by way of life, and as a photographer searching for depth, Peter creates images that reflect his sense of place in wild landscapes. Read his journal about his recent Alps trip here.

Castleton School History

Castleton School has recently celebrated its 140th anniversary. Just three years after the Education Act of 1871, the school was built on land given by a former Lord Downe. A new book to celebrate the school’s anniversary has been published, Our Village School: the saga of the stove by Carol Wilson, headteacher at the school between 2000 and 2007. The book is based on the School’s log book records and includes many personal anecdotes and more than 150 images.

Moorsholm wins Gold

The small moorland village of Moorsholm has won a Gold award in the UK finals of the ‘Britain in Bloom’ competition. A team of volunteers has worked tirelessly around the year to bring home this amazing result.

Potash Mine Plans

On 30 June 2015 members of the North York Moors National Park Authority resolved to grant permission for the York Potash planning application to build a potash mine and mineral transport system near Whitby subject to the finalisation of the Section 106 Agreement and final wording of conditions. Members made the decision at a special planning committee meeting at Sneaton Castle, Whitby. Click here for more information about the project.

Whitby Hospital Plans

Members of the community were invited to have a say in plans for a new build of Whitby Hospital.

Lights Out, Lealholm

More than 60 people gathered at Lealholm’s War Memorial on the night of 4 August 2014, to mark the centenary of the beginning of the First World War. The Royal British Legion encouraged people all across the country to participate in their Lights Out campaign, which was inspired by the famous remark attributed to Sir Edward Grey, Foreign Secretary at the outbreak of war: ‘The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.’

Esk Valley Theatre Success

The Esk Valley Theatre celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2014 with the production ‘One for the Road’ by award-winning playwright Willy Russell. The Esk Valley Theatre brings professional theatre to the rural community and draws theatre-goers from far and wide. Watch out for other events by the Company throughout the year: they are always a treat. More information at www.eskvalleytheatre.co.uk and in this short film of one of their summer plays:

Threatened Closure of Public Toilets

Scarborough Borough Council plans to close the public toilets in Esk Valley villages including Castleton, Danby, Egton Bridge, Glaisdale, Grosmont, Lealholm; also in Ruswarp, Robin Hood’s Bay and Runswick Bay. At the same time the Council seeks to increase the number of visitors to the area. If you are concerned about the removal of public toilets in the villages, there is a petition you can sign here.

James Cook Station open – Esk Valley Railway

James Cook Station is open for service on the Esk Valley line – giving rail access to the Middlesbrough hospital for anyone living or staying in the Esk Valley. Four trains a day, in each direction, connect the stations along the Esk Valley as far as Whitby. The Esk Valley Railway Development Company advocates a more frequent service. To voice your support, please email EVRDC saying why an improved service is so important to the Esk Valley and Whitby communities.

Lewis Hunton – Project Go-ahead!

The North East Yorkshire Geology Trust secured £60,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund and partners for a two-year project to explore and celebrate the geological and industrial heritage of Loftus, birthplace of Lewis Hunton (1814–1838) who made a critical advance in a sub-discipline of geology that is still relevant today.

Lost Sheep in Pink Jerseys

If you visited the North York Moors and Yorkshire Coast between 20 June and 20 September 2014 you may have seen some pink sheep. From toy lambs to life size sheep, more than 200 woolly animals made by local people, school children and businesses were dotted around the National Park.

Mountain Rescue Award

Scarborough and Ryedale Mountain Rescue Team received a prestigious community award. It is one of just 40 groups to be awarded The Duke of York’s Community Initiative which is presented annually to Yorkshire-based organisations.

Apprentices in the National Park

The North York Moors National Park Authority was named Yorkshire & Humber’s best medium employer of the year in the National Apprenticeship Awards in 2012 and 2013, and listed in the Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers in the country for the previous three years.

Loss of National Park Champion

Derek Statham, who was instrumental in shaping today’s North York Moors, died aged 76. Derek was National Park Officer at the NYM National Park for 20 years, presiding over a time of great change for the organisation.

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