Day 248 - The Larpool Viaduct and Ruswarp

That's a lot of bricks

Well we said goodbye to Lord Finley of Long Island this morning although his royal train was cancelled due to labour disruptions in his kingdom.  So we put him on the local bus so that he could get to his royal carriage at Middlesbrough for his return journey.

Angela and I then decided to take a short walk along the Esk River upstream to the village of Ruswarp. We stayed here many years ago with the kids and had taken this walk into Whitby with them. A little reminiscence on our part as we made our way along the water.

Along the way we came to a magnificent structure: the Larpool Viaduct. This disused viaduct was part of the Scarborough and Whitby railway line that ran between these towns from 1885 to 1965. The entire railway line is 33 kilometers in length and was constructed for the equivalent of  £2million in today's money. The viaduct was completed in 1884 and has 13 arches, with the rail line being 120 feet above the river. It is made entirely of brick (over 5.2 million bricks) and cement and does not have any iron work as it was felt to be too close to the ocean and corrosion was seen as an issue. It is also mentioned in Bram Stoker's Dracula novel. Seven years after trains stopped using the line the viaduct was given Grade II listing and is now used as part of a cycle/walking path between Whitby and Scarborough.

The village green at Ruswarp

Further along, we arrived at Ruswarp. The village was known for its corn mill that sat on the bank of the Esk and was used until the early 1960s. A weir had been built to assist in the flow of water to drive the mill, and today it is being used to generate electricity by a community-based power project. It is a 50-kilowatt screwtype generator and produces power generally during the winter at about 1000 kilowatt hrs per day. The average household in the UK uses 11 kilowatt hours per day, so this project is powering about 90 homes during those months.

The village also has a local butcher and a local shop so we stopped at the shop for some drinks and at the butcher for a bacon sandwich to share. Munching along, we then decided to take a cross-country route back to Whitby. This route is on a predominantly laid stone track (referred to as the Monk's Trod) although we had to pay special attention to the nettle that seemed to be reaching out into the open space.

Ale of the Day: Saltwich Nab Ruby Ale, Whitby Brewery, Whitby, North Yorkshire