“Where is the Esk?”, asked a friend of mine discussing the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Trust. “North Yorkshire”, I explained, aware that I had not been along the railway line that follows the river valley for some time.
So I planned a visit to Danby, in the centre of the Esk Valley, since it was within walking distance of the National Park Visitor Centre. Two-platform Middlesbrough station is busy but the train to Whitby left from platform 2 within a couple of minutes of our arrival from Newcastle, and set off first to suburban stations, then reversed at Battersby and dropped me at Danby with a ridiculously cheap Advance Purchase ticket and nine hours to explore the area before being picked up.
A warmer welcome up the hill
Danby is a small village and the doors to the Duke of Wellington pub were open. Assuming the staff were busy I settled in but was eventually told they did not serve until 4pm, and meals in the evening were prebooked only. Could I book for later? No! Luckily, I found a warmer welcome at the village bakery just up the hill where a large group of cyclists were gathered, and I enjoyed an orange cake and coffee. After a spell of hot weather, multiple thunderstorms were forecast but in practice there was only one shower all day as I left the bakery. I walked east to the Visitor Centre, and my umbrella then proved superfluous.
Tortoise or hare
After a large group of schoolchildren had left, I enjoyed the exhibitions and artwork about the Moors, and its many villages, peaks and troughs. I enquired about using the Tramper, which is a cross between a quad-bike and a motorised wheelchair. They only had one for hire (others are dotted about the moors) but it was available and once the shop queue had died down it was fetched for me and I had a brief tuition session.
I had a choice of “tortoise” speed or “hare”, with another adjustment to go faster still, and after a few minutes use I learned the use of the handlebars (choose left or right) and crossed the road to Crows Wood where I had the pleasure of racing round the marked path without mowing down any pedestrians. A fallen tree on a footpath precluded using another route with the Tramper, but I was assured it would be cleared in two days. The Tramper was fun to use, especially on rougher ground, fully electric and easily manoeuvrable.
Three ways across the river
The closed path unfortunately led to a longer walk by single track road to south of the river and railway, but I discovered the Duck Bridge, which was a ford with a hump-backed stone bridge and stepping stones giving three choices of ways to cross.
I continued to Ainthorpe village, where a World Cup match was due to begin (on TV, naturally) accompanied by a delicious serving of Whitby scampi in the much more welcoming Fox and Hounds with its appropriate coat of arms. It was only ten minutes back to Danby station in the photographer’s golden hour. Although the train was slightly delayed owing to trespassers on the track, it was a pleasure watching the bird and animal life alone on the station seat until the train came into view.
A slow day, then, in a sleepy valley. There was time to toddle up to the Duke of Wellington but I decided to give it a miss after my earlier experience. After a quiet day in the country, it was good to pass through other rural stations and consider what adventures they might offer on another occasion.
By Alex Nelson
