The River Esk and the North Yorkshire Moors

The River Esk rises in the Cleveland hills and flows east to Whitby, on the east coast of Yorkshire. Today, most of the course of the river lies within the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, an outstanding area of countryside that surrounds the ancient seaport of Whitby.

During the nineteenth century, this part of Yorkshire was mostly wild and inhospitable — a landscape of narrow valleys and steep hills rising to moorland heights with small hamlets scattered here and there. Despite the paucity of inhabitants (a total population of only around 25,560), there are over 100 villages in the North York Moors.

Through a nostalgic selection of images past and present, this book will take readers on a guided tour of the Esk Valley, the changes wrought upon its wild moorland by the passage of time and industry, and the history of its towns, villages and residents.