On the evening of 16th May a joint exercise was held at Royal Air Force Fylingdales involving North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, the Defence Fire and Rescue Service and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS).

The exercise simulated a serious road traffic collision involving 4 cars and a minibus and the immediate response of RAF Fylingdales fire crews as first response, before their civilian counterparts arrived on scene.

This mutually beneficial exercise provided an excellent training opportunity for both services and will enhance existing practices and procedures with the ultimate aim of saving life.

RAF Fylingdales Station Commander Wing Commander Rayna Owens said: “This is the first joint exercise of its type and is beneficial to both fire services. If one life is saved as a result, then the exercise will have proved to be a success.”

Group Manager Peter Hudson from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service commented: “North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service regularly work with our Ministry of Defence Fire Service colleagues; this joint working helps both teams understand each other’s procedures and capabilities whilst allowing us to share ideas on rescue techniques.”

He added: “I would like to thank the Yorkshire Ambulance Service for their attendance and Fyling Hall School for providing the “casualties” and making the exercise even more realistic.”

RAF Fylingdales Fire Station Manager Jim Davis added: “This is a great opportunity for both fire services to practice joint working which will increase capability and help save lives.”

Photos show joint working between the 3 services

Endangered water voles in Langdale Forest, near Pickering, are set to benefit from work to dam woodland watercourses and remove conifers from the species’ streamside haunts.

The Forestry Commission has linked up with the North York Moors National Park Authority and National Trust to extend habitat creation work, funded by £24,000 from an Environment Agency scheme to improve water quality.

Water voles – beloved as Ratty in Wind in the Willows – were once commonplace, but the escape of predatory mink into the British countryside and fewer suitable habitats saw their fortunes collapse. Now they are now on the critical list and Langdale Forest and the eastern moors may be their only haven in the North York Moors National Park.

However, the future could be looking brighter.

Brian Walker, Forestry Commission Wildlife Officer, explained:

“Water voles are thought of as a creature of lowland river streams, not upland moors and forest like Langdale. One theory is that they sought refuge from highly predatory mink in rivers like the Esk and Derwent. But it could be that they’ve been here all along and no one thought to look until they were found in the 1980s. So far we have identified around half a dozen sites, with a couple more in nearby Sneaton Forest. It’s a very important colony and over the years we have been tweaking the environment to its advantage.”

The latest work aims to improve water quality by reducing sediment and creating the kind of clean pools the creature loves. But the work will also help other wildlife, including fish.

Ami Walker, North York Moors National Park Authority’s Agri-Environment Officer, commented:

“This project is a great example of the benefits working in partnership can bring. By pooling resources, knowledge and expertise we can begin to make a real difference to the wildlife and habitats of the North York Moors National Park.”

Environment Agency officer Allison Pierre said:

“This is an important project which has helped to boost the quality of the water in the streams, and we are delighted to have been able to help fund it. Our rivers are the healthiest for 20 years, but we are doing even more to improve water quality and biodiversity. By reducing the sediment in these forest streams, we can encourage fish, water voles and other wildlife to thrive.”

Another positive development for ratty could be the return of the otter. It seems they do not tolerate the presence of mink, although no-one quite knows the mechanics of the frosty relationship.

“Fewer mink may allow water voles to branch out again. That would be very good news to prevent the fragmentation of the species,” adds Brian Walker.

Note to editor

Water voles are legally protected in Britain. Recent evidence indicates that water voles have undergone a long term decline in Britain. They have disappeared from 94% of their former sites, a decline exceeding even that for the otter. On average, water voles only live about five months in the wild. They eat grasses and waterside vegetation.

The Forestry Commission is the government department responsible in England for protecting, expanding and promoting the sustainable management of woods and forests and increasing their value to society and the environment. Forestry makes a real contribution to sustainable development, providing social and environmental benefits arising from planting and managing attractive, as well as productive, woodlands. For more visit www.forestry.gov.uk/YorkshireandtheHumber.

Media calls to Richard Darn on 0775 367 0038

Originally published, August 10th 2011

Related Reading

• Whitby Fishing Forum Topic

Tuesday evening saw the monthly gathering of Whitby Town Council for a meeting based solely on issues relating to Whitby Harbour. There was good turn out from the local community and from members of the newly formed Whitby Harbour Board.

Councillor Ken Graham who specializes in Harbour matters led the meeting and explained to all present that his goal for the evening was to form a working relationship between the working harbour users, Whitby Town Council and the newly formed Whitby Harbour Group.

Councillor Graham explaied to those present that he felt there were several areas that needed to be explored, the most salient of which were :

1. The unfinished marina development and transfer of £300,000 from that development into the hands of the harbour board.
2. Address the inbalance of resources spent by the harbour board which currently favour private harbour users over commercial users.
3. To form a working relationship between the working harbour users

The Unfinished Marina Development – Where Has Our £300,000 Gone ?

The first hour of the meeting was dedicated to a discussion on the transfer of £300,000 from the marina development (initially designated for marina landscaping) into the hands of the newly formed harbour board. Councillor Graham explained that this £300,00 “seems to have been transferred into the general coffers of the harbour board” , a situation that Councillor Graham referred to as “unsatisfactory as the money should have been spent on the work it was initially designated for”

Members of the Whitby Harbour Group spoke at length about the consultation process for this money and said they felt everything had been handled according to policy and within a professional manner. In reply councillor Graham told the meeting he had found it difficult to take part within the consultation and at one point the harbour master had treied to have him removed from the meeting. Mr Graham added that he felt the consultation process had been “seriously flawed” and the voices of the people of Whitby had been ignored.

Speaking about the transfer of the £300,000 Councillor Ian Havelock told the meeting that he felt the money had been moved from one pot to another , and relabelled as harbour board money, and although he was sure that everything was above board he had “Concerns over what the money would now be spent on” Councillor Havelock added that the money was given to Whitby people for development of the harbour environment and this is what it should be spent on.

Imbalance Of Resources Commercial Versus Private Harbour Users

In the second debate of the night Councillor Graham explained that the current situation of the harbour gave more weight to private use of the harbour over commercial users such as charter boat owners. Councillor Graham explained that the current plans of the harbour board was to give more weight to devlopment of the harbour for private use such as new yacht pontoons.

In response members of the harbour board told the meeting that the fishing situation was currently static and that the commercial future of the harbour now lays in the field of windfarm development for the new windfarm proposed for dogger bank, and not in fishing. The Harbour Board members explained that they are eager to bring windfarm work into Whitby and were currently working hard to develop this area.

A Working Relationship – Harbour Board And Whitby Town Council.

The final part of the evening was for the discussion of building a working relationship between Whitby Town Council and the newly formed harbour board. Members of the meeting agreed to form a sub committee of the council to deal with harbour matters and work closely with the harbour board.

Back in the day, when we all (?) dutifully believed that the full fury of ‘global warming’ and ‘climate change’ was upon us, a golden glow arose over the deeply furrowed brows of our Scarborough Borough Councillors and Officers, and, lo, it’s name was “The Dogger Bank Wind-farm”.

Even with the benefit of hindsight, it is difficult to decide whether SBC Leader Councillor Tom Fox and his (then) close ally Councillor Andy Backhouse genuinely embraced that supremely pithy sound-byte “the wind-farm will do for Whitby what oil and gas did for Aberdeen”, or whether they simply chose to ride on a wave of wishful thinking because that is the only sort of thinking they can manage.

As our colleague Richard Ineson has so ably pointed out, SBC’s influence is rapidly shrinking. Many of its former functions have been factored out, shuffled sideways, privatised or otherwise abandoned.

So the prospect of the Dogger Bank development (and that other ‘manna from heaven’ proposal, Sirius/YPL’s plans for mining potash from beneath the North Yorkshire Moors National Park – a subject I will be revisiting soon) offered an irresistible temptation to SBC to make like they had something genuinely worthwhile to offer.

Predictably, the hyperbole gushed like Texas tea.

Equally predictably, it has dried up.

But first let us remind ourselves, courtesy of the Whitby Gazette, of what a bonanza the Dogger Bank project, as presented by SBC, was going to bestow upon Whitby . . .

•  “Harbour ‘ideal’ for windfarm support” [published 16^th March 2010] – Cllr Peter Popple, the portfolio holder for harbours and land, said the council needed to be in at the start. He said: “It will require a supply chain to support the industry. Whitby is ideally placed and Scarborough Harbour can be utilised”.

In an email to myself and others, dated 18^th March 2010, SBC’s (then) Head of Technical Services John Riby told us:

“You should be aware that the SEN focuses on Scarborough and it is they who have put the slant on Scarborough. Undoubtably[sic] Whitby has the greatest potential”.

Right, John. Of course.

•  “Jobs hope in windfarm proposals” [published 16th June 2010] – AMBITIOUS plans are being drawn up by Scarborough Council to bring thousands of jobs to the area by playing a significant role in supporting the wind-farm industry. . . .The Dogger Bank and Hornsea schemes are part of a 100 billion strategy announced in January to harvest green energy and create up to 70,000 jobs.

•  “Wind-farm project on target to bring jobs” [published 25th September 2010] - SCARBOROUGH could be set for a huge employment boost as plans to build a large off-shore wind-farm on the coast move closer . . . Anders Søe-Jensen, president of Vestas Offshore, which has built a number of wind-farms across Europe, said the proposals would be a real coup for Scarborough . . . He said: “This research underlines the benefits to coastal communities surrounding Scarborough that will come from hosting offshore wind-farms”

•  “SCARBOROUGH WINDFARM BOOST” [published on 24 November 2010] . . . Richard Wright, of the Yorkshire and Humber Manufacturing Group, speaking at a business lunch in Scarborough yesterday . . . said Scarborough and Whitby were ideally placed to be part of the supply, repairs, support vessel and port network for the North Sea scheme because they are close to two of the proposed development sites – at Dogger Bank and another which has been named Hornsea . . . Nick Taylor, Scarborough’s inward investment manager, said . . . “Whitby in this particular area is going to be the main beneficiary but we hope Scarborough can be involved as well”.

I am labouring the point here, but you get it already; according to SBC, the Dogger Bank windfarm was going to be the very best thing since John Poulson. Or do I mean HighPoint Rendel?

Fortunately, this barrage of forced optimism did not go unchallenged. WTC Councillor Ian Havelock and WTC Councillor Ken Graham were amongst the first to voice skepticism – bordering on incredulity. They were by no means unsupported . . .

RenewableUK is the info-portal of the British Wind Energy Association. For over two years now, I have been pointing out to anyone who wanted to listen – plus Whitby Town (Parish) Council – that, in the hundreds of press-releases I have received from RenewableUK, the names ‘Whitby’ and ‘Scarborough’ have never once appeared. The name ‘Teesside’ has appeared frequently. It was very clear which way the wind was blowing; to the north.

But SBC was pushing ahead intrepidly:

•  “A fantastic opportunity”  [published on 3rd February 2011] SCARBOROUGH Borough Council is pushing ahead in its bid to attract millions of pounds of investment into Whitby through the windfarm industry . . .
  . . . But Coun Bob Sigsworth said: “The only thing Whitby could be useful for is rapid deployment of staff but it’s not an all weather port. Whitby has no chance of any commerical shipping coming into the town. I’m sad to say it but that’s the situation. Whitby is the third most popular resort in Britain, that is where the money lies. I still say it isn’t going to happen”.

The astonishing thing is that everybody who knows Whitby Harbour is fully aware of its idiosyncracies – a very tough entry in rough weather, even with plenty of water under the keel at high tide – and prone to a strong cross-rip when the tide is in full flood. To make matters worse, the dredging licence has been exploited to the benefit of the yachting fraternity and marina-users, and to the detriment of commercial operators, leaving the Harbour mouth with the extra hazard of a sand-bar that has caught out even the odd unwary local.

The Swing-Bridge is a bottle-neck that sets a non-negotiable limit to the beam of any vessel bound for Endeavour Wharf. Those huge wind-farm service catamarans were never going to be able to come here.

Equally obvious is the inadequacy of transport access by rail (single track from Middlesborugh) or by road (down Bagdale). Whitby is in every way simply unsuitable.

Meanwhile, industry experts were questioning the basic viability of the Dogger Bank proposals; too costly to build and maintain, too uncertain a power source given the vagaries of the wind, too dependent on conventional back-up systems. Even in the aftermath of Fukushima, some pundits still favoured the nuclear option.

In June of last year (2011), I emailed SBC Portfolio Holder and Chair of the Whitby Harbour Board Councillor Mike Cockerill, to draw his attention to an article in WindPower Monthly in which Professor Dieter Helm (New College, Oxford), advisor to the European Energy Commission, was quoted thus:

• “There is a real doubt whether energy customers can afford the £100 billion UK offshore wind would add to their bills.

• “Switching from coal generation to gas generation would only cost £10 billion and still help Britain meet its 2020 carbon emission targets”

Readers will be unsurprised to learn that Mike Cockerill has not bothered to acknowledge my email – much less respond to it. Why was that, Mike? No leg to stand on?

On 2^nd July 2011, the Telegraph published an article under the by-line of that fastidious researcher Christopher Booker, entitled “Proof that the Government is tilting at windmills”. It begins:

• “In the week when it was reported that 20 per cent of the EU’s fast-soaring, trillion-euro budget may soon be spent on “fighting climate change”, it was timely that Britain’s energy companies should have met with the Department of Energy and Climate Change to raise one of the best-hidden secrets of our Government’s obsession with wind power”.

and ends:

• “I’m afraid we are in the hands of very dangerous children, upon whose deranged wishful thinking a large part of our country’s future depends”.

It is well worth a read.

For the past twelve months, SBC has been somewhat muted in its response to that information.

Meanwhile, on 8^th May 2012, FOREWIND (a consortium of four leading energy companies) has announced public consultation of its proposals to base all of its Dogger Bank windfarm activities in – guess where – yes, Teesside.

SBC has not commented on how exactly this will “bring thousands of jobs” to our area.

Presumably it will entail the same ‘creative accountancy’ as will deliver the 5,000 SIRIUS potash mining jobs.

One might reasonably ask whether our Councillors and their Officers are quite simply far too gullible – or inconceivably incompetent – or both. Or do they just do as they are told by the Europhiles at Local Government Yorkshire & Humber, where the real decisions are made? (You do know about them, don’t you?).

What beats me is why we go on giving credence to these ‘dangerous children’ at all.

As we have seen, they are all wind. And pith.

Here is a diary of my day volunteering for the NYMR at Grosmont :

“My name is Lizzie and I am a rescue greyhound. Although I am nearly 5 years old, I’m in my prime and love to run around and play with my toys. Actually, when I first retired from my racing career, I didn’t know what play was, as after all I had been a working girl. Not long after I was adopted, my parents and friends gave me lots of toys. I discovered the delights of play, especially with the squeaky ones. After a life spent chasing but never catching the hare, I can now catch and shake stuffed rabbits to my heart’s content.

Mum, Dad and I are volunteers for the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, based at Grosmont, working in the booking office. Although I was a bit nervous at first, all that hissing and hooting took a while to get used to, but now I love steam trains. Not so long ago, I went for a ride and of course and I felt so grand.

Anyway, this is a typical day’s work for me and my parents.

We get there at least 3/4 hour before we have to open so that everything is ready for the passengers. While my parents check the float, the tickets and do the banking, I stay in my car boot where I am warm and comfortable, so I doze. Strange as it may seem for an athlete, I do like to sleep a lot. After all, if nothing is going on or there is no food, sleep seems the most sensible option. But I’m always ready for a walk and amuse my parents by running round in circles out of excitement. It’s rather nice changing from a lady who launches at the start of a race to a lady who lunches all the time. Dog joke there.

When the Travelling Ticket Inspectors (TTIs) have been to collect their bits and pieces, because Mum and Dad are both fully trained booking office clerks, one of them will collect me, take me for a walk then take me back to the booking office, where I have a bed in the corner out of everyone’s way. I have a bowl of water and they talk to me if they are not too busy. I also like to see the nice people who work at the station, such as Peter, Dave, Amanda and Gillian. Sometimes I’m given a snack, but for some reason I’m only given a delicious pig’s ear at home. Something about the honk, according to Dad, but I’ve never noticed. Of course, I do all the hard work while all they do is serve the passengers and answer any queries they might have. Everything seems to run like clockwork when I’m on duty! Lots of passengers have dogs and I love hearing my parents talking about doggy things with the proud owners. The best bit is when I’m introduced to other dogs, especially greyhounds. We sniff each other thoroughly, eat a few treats, then it’s back for another good old sniff.

At lunch time they get their lunch from the Tea Rooms (they do a lovely sausage at Grosmont!) and I get given a lovely juicy Jumbone. After lunch one of them will take me for a walk where I carry out my ablutions and sniff the hedges and grass. Before we leave for the day, I am taken back to my car boot, then they clean up the booking office, sweeping and washing the floor, so that it is nice and clean, not that I make any mess of course!

When we get home I get given my dinner, which I’m ready for after a hard day’s work, then I’m upstairs to their (I mean my) bed for a few hours of sleep, when I dream of being back at the Station with all my new friends”. Lizzie

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway is very proud of its Volunteers and we are very welcoming of well behaved Dogs to travel with us.

If you would like to become a volunteer for the Railway or you know someone who maybe interested please visit our Volunteering Site which has a wealth of information about this fascinating aspect of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

Friday 25th May and Friday 1st June 2012

As a thank you to the communities for their loyal support of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, on Friday 25 May and Friday 1 June 2012, residents of Whitby, Pickering, Levisham, Goathland and Grosmont are invited to enjoy a day out on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway for free. This is a pre-booked service only and will be limited to two people per booking.

Places are limited to 30 visitors from each of the 5 stations on the 24 mile line per service. Please call 01751 472508 to book in advance.

In order to collect your tickets, please arrive at your local booking office no later than 15 minutes prior to departure. A valid driving licence or utility bill must be shown with a valid Pickering, Levisham, Goathland, Grosmont or Whitby address.

Don’t forget the Swinging Sixties returns to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on 9 and 10 June with live bands, real ale bars and vintage vehicles at stations along the line. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway will be running an enhanced timetable during the Diamond Jubilee Steam Festival Saturday 2 to Sunday 10 June, with more services running to and from Whitby since the 1950s.

Services run daily between Pickering and Whitby. Fares are £22.50 for adults, £19.50 for seniors and £11.30 for children for a day rover ticket allowing unlimited travel between Pickering and Whitby. A family ticket (two adults and up to four children) is available for just £45.00. Children under five ride free.

For more information, please call 01751 472508, visit www.nymr.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @NYMR or Facebook @North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Residents Festival bookable services

11.00 Whitby to Pickering

11.30 Grosmont to Pickering

11.50 Goathland to Pickering

12.20 Goathland to Pickering

Returning back to Whitby on 15.00 from Pickering (change at Grosmont)

09.00 Pickering to Whitby

09.19 Levisham to Whitby

09.45 Goathland to Whitby

10.10 Grosmont to Whitby

12.00 Pickering to Whitby

12.20 Levisham to Whitby

12.50 Goathland to Whitby

13.10 Grosmont to Whitby

Returning back to Pickering on the 14.00 or 17.30 from Whitby

Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy has today announced that this year Yorkshire has 17 award-winning beaches, including seven which have been awarded the coveted Blue Flag, highlighting the top standards of cleanliness, safety, water quality and environmental management at these resorts.

The East Riding of Yorkshire has this year secured a full complement of Blue Flags for its four resort beaches, including Bridlington a hugely popular holiday destination, which has regained both its two Blue Flags, alongside Hornsea and Withernsea which have also achieved the award once again.

Beaches in North Yorkshire have also faired well with Filey Bay, Whitby West Cliff and Scarborough North Bay all retaining their existing Blue Flag status.

Improvements recently completed at Yorkshire Water’s Scarborough waste water treatment works means that Scarborough South Bay is on its way to becoming another Blue Flag flying beach, with more improvement work by the company planned for the next two years.

Many of the region’s other beaches were very highly rated too, with 13 of them receiving coveted Quality Coast Awards (QCAs) which recognise and reward beaches that achieve the highest standards of beach management. Among the 13 are Filey Bay, Cayton Bay, Robin Hood’s Bay, Runswick Bay, Sandsend, Whitby West Cliff, Scarborough North Bay and Scarborough South Bay

in North Yorkshire.

Today’s announcement is great news for the multi-agency partnership which has been working since 2010 to secure the highest quality bathing waters for Yorkshire’s beaches under new, more stringent standards due to come into force from 2015.

Consisting of Yorkshire Water, the Environment Agency, Welcome to Yorkshire, Scarborough Borough Council, East Riding of Yorkshire Council and North Yorkshire County Council, the partnership is working together to try and achieve eight blue flags for Yorkshire’s coast. Work is already underway by the partnership to meet the requirements of the new European Directive which has set these much tighter quality standards. Members of the partnership have, over the past 18 months been tackling different sources of pollution including overflows from sewers and local watercourses.

The work of the partnership is set to deliver massive environmental, economic and social benefits to local communities and Yorkshire as a whole.

Graham Dixon, Yorkshire Water’s Director of Production said:

“Its great news that so many of Yorkshire’s beaches will be able to fly their Blue Flags this year. We’re committed to playing our part in securing these Blue Flags for years to come by investing in our coastal assets like sewers, pumps and treatment facilities.

“We’ve just completed a really important stage of work at Scarborough to improve the town’s bathing water quality and we’re well underway with other improvements as part of our £110 million investment on the Yorkshire coast.”

Brian Bennett, Head of Tourism and Culture at Scarborough Borough Council added:

“It is excellent news that so many of our borough’s beaches have won quality coast awards and particularly Whitby, Filey and Scarborough North Bay, which once again have secured the coveted Blue Flag. This news will be very much welcomed by residents, visitors and the many businesses that

rely on the tourism economy.

“The investment Yorkshire Water is currently making in Scarborough together with the work of the

Yorkshire Bathing Water Partnership will bring further improvements to bathing water quality and

hopefully help us to secure a Blue Flag for Scarborough South Bay in the future.”

For more information on the regional bathing waters partnership initiative and its aims, visit

www.yorkshirewater.com/yorkshirebeaches

NINA WILSON, eldest daughter of founder member, Tom Salmon – who herself volunteered as a teenager on the fledgling NYMR in the 1960s – realises the dream of a lifetime when she rides the footplate of a steam engine along the line.

I HAVE just enjoyed one of the most thrilling experiences of my life.

My daughter, Natalya, organised a footplate ride for my 57th birthday.

Now I am not a person who is usually envious by nature, but I must admit to having being rather ‘green’ when Natalya enjoyed an exhilarating footplate ride on the NYMR earlier this year and subsequently wrote a captivating feature about it for the Gazette and Herald and The Press.

In fact, I had hoped to celebrate my 50th birthday by riding the footplate, but because of work commitments, was unable to do so.

Well, it was certainly worth the seven year wait.

As we drove over the moors from York to Grosmont to join the train leaving for Pickering at 11.30am, I was so excited that I could scarcely contain myself.

On arrival at Grosmont Station, we collected my special yellow driving cab pass from the control office, where we received a very warm welcome from the staff. The platform was very busy with smiling passengers hurrying to climb aboard the waiting train and I noticed how neat and well-kept the station was and thought how proud my Dad, founder Tom Salmon, would be when I told him.

I was then introduced to the friendly crew of the driving cab: driver Shawn Kay, fireman Pete Shaw and trainee fireman Jack Prince.

At last, I eagerly scrambled aboard the footplate of Southern Region locomotive 825 in anticipation of the 18-mile journey from Grosmont to Pickering – a journey I had already done numerous times, but always inside a carriage behind the engine.

Shawn made sure that I was safe and comfortable and lent me a cap to tuck my hair into, before Pete instructed Jack to shovel the largest chunks of coal I had ever seen into the firebox to set the wheels of this huge machine in motion.

As we waved a cheery farewell to the onlookers at the level-crossing, we were immediately over the Murk Esk bridge and into the tunnel adjacent to George Stephenson’s original railway.

Memories of early childhood holidays in Yorkshire came flooding back, as I remembered being in the carriage of a steam-hauled train with my parents and younger sister going through Grosmont tunnel, in the days of British Railways before Beeching wielded his axe on the branch lines which criss-crossed our countryside.

I recollected smartly-dressed passengers hastily getting out of their seats to shut the windows before the acrid sooty fumes could enter the carriage and pondered how times have changed and how we now love the nostalgia of the days of steam, and how a ride on the footplate of a steam engine epitomises the very stuff of dreams.

We quickly emerged from the tunnel into bright sunlight and I soon had a lovely view of Esk Valley’s row of cottages with livestock in the back gardens to our right. Shawn told me that he is ‘the most junior driver on the NYMR’, as he qualified last year after eight years training. He went on to explain just how much effort is required on the part of these giant ’iron horses’, powered by steam, to haul their sets of coaches up the three-and-a-half mile incline to Goathland, with its gradient of 1 in 49.

As I peered through the windows of the front of the cab, I had an entirely different perspective of how steeply the incline rose in front of us.

Jack was under instruction from Pete to double the amount of coal he was shovelling into the firebox, to feed its now insatiable appetite.

Meanwhile, the view from the footplate provided a stunning vista of the steeply wooded slopes around Beckhole and Darnholm, with their soft green colours and a clear view of the recently renewed bridge no 30.

After toiling up the seemingly never-ending incline, we chugged into picturesque Goathland Station, to be greeted by enthusiastic crowds of onlookers and passengers jostling to board the train.

I watched as Jack received a lesson on how to give the passing-loop to an outstretched arm in smart NYMR uniform held aloft in attentive anticipation from the platform below us.

Two children in a carriage of the train alongside us heading for Grosmont gazed wistfully up at me and returned the smile and wave that I gave them before we left in opposite directions.

As we pulled out of Goathland Station behind a good head of steam in the direction of Moorgates, I felt quite overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of the surroundings, evoking different aspects of nature.

From my vantage point high upon the footplate, I could enjoy a truly multi-sensory experience: the wind blowing in my face and the warm sunshine with white clouds occasionally scudding across the blue sky above, while down below us primroses, celandines and wood-anemones adorned the grassy banks alongside the track. I spotted newborn calves in the meadows and lambs scampering up the hillsides at the sound of the approaching train, their tails bobbing up and down.

Then onward we hastened towards Ellerbeck and the point at which the Lyke Wake Walk crosses over the track, the wild moorland stretching beyond our horizon into the distance. As the engine curved round a bend into Fen Bog, I glanced back at the train snaking along behind us and recognised Natalya’s beaming face, peering out of a window, camera in hand, as she captured the moment for posterity of her Mum’s long-awaited footplate ride on the NYMR.

The water glistened in the beck below us as I discerned the sweet scent of Newton Dale’s pine forest ahead of us and some men cutting timber waved to us, as we broke the silence of dense tall dark green trees.

I thought of my parents, Tom and Erika Salmon – NYMR members one and two – with gratitude for all the hard work that they did to save this glorious railway, as we journeyed on to Levisham through this, their favourite part of the line.

I was delighted when Shawn invited me to blow the engine’s whistle near Platelayer’s Cottage and again as we neared our journey’s end at Pickering.

As we drew into Pickering Station, I was very impressed by the wonderful reconstruction of the engine shed roof – it was so much more impressive viewed from the footplate of the locomotive which had brought me on this trip of a lifetime.

As a final word, I would like to say ‘thank you’ to all those who made this footplate trip on my beloved NYMR possible for me.

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• Whitby Piers With Yacht Sailing In

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• Whitby Lighthouses - East And West Pier

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• Whitby Sea Angling

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• Whitby Harbour At Night

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• Whitby West Pier October 2011

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• Whitby East Pier To Saltwick Bay October 2011

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• Whitby West Pier Lighthouse Oct 2011

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• Whitby West Pier Oct 2011

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• Whitby West Pier Oct 2011

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• Whitby Piers October 2011

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• Whitby West Pier Oct 2011

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• Whitby West Pier Oct 2011

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• Whitby West Pier Oct 2011

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• Whitby Beach Oct 2011

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• Whitby Beach Oct 2011

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• Whitby Beach Oct 2011

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• Sandsend Surfer October 2011

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• Sandsend Surfer October 2011

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• Sandsend Surfer October 2011

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• Sandsend Surfer October 2011

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• Hawsker High Lights Lighthouse - Oct 2011

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• Whitby High Lights

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• Whitby High Lights

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• Tate Hill Beach Silohettes

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• Whitby Foghorn The Bull - October 2011

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• Whitby Lighthouse - Hawsker High Light - October 2011

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• Whitby Lighthouse - Hawsker High Light - October 2011

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• Whitby Lighthouse - Hawsker High Light - October 2011

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• Whitby Lighthouse - Hawsker High Light - October 2011

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• Whitby Lighthouse - Hawsker High Light - October 2011

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• Tate Hill Beach Silohettes

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• 196

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• Staponas Gallery

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• July-first-bassing-pics-2011187

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• July-first-bassing-pics-2011155

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• Whitby Lifeguards On Beach

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• Whitby Swing Bridge

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• Whitby Velocity Speedboat

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• Whitby Rowing Clubs Friendship And Fisherlads

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• whitby-groins

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• real-whitby-sunset

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• real-whitby-sea-sunset

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• real-whitby-sea-piers

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• real-whitby-sea-cobble

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• real-whitby-sea-bass

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• whitbylifeboat

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• Whitby Beach On A Hazy Day

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• real-whitby-sandsend-ducks

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• real-whitby-saltwick

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• 06-09-12 5 Sand SBC 175

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• kayaking-friends

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• whitby-lifeboat

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• Hawsker Bottoms Jet Miner

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• leaving whitby harbour

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• Grand-Turk 010

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• Tate Hill Beach Silohettes

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• saltwick-bay-moon 045

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• Whitby Harbour

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Please click the thumbnails to see full sized images.

Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists (U)

View The Trailer
This Tuesday & Wednesday: 5pm
Sundays: 20th & 27th May: 2.30pm

The underdog Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant) and his motley crew set out to beat their rivals in the annual Pirate of the Year contest. But how can they bag more booty than the successful likes of Peg Leg Hastings (Lenny Henry), Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek) and Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven). After a fruitless search of the high seas, they run into Charles Darwin (David Tennant) – who takes an immediate shine to the Captain’s odd-looking parrot! But will our heroes turn this to their advantage, dodge Pirate-hating Queen Victoria (Imelda Staunton) and win the prize from the Pirate King (Brian Blessed)?
To find out, you’ll have to see this hilarious new model-animation from Bristol’s much-acclaimed Aardman Films. Adapted by Gideon Defoe from his own book, it’s a riotously funny, action-packed family adventure.
Running Time: 88 Mins

Next Week:
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: More information

Adults: £6 Children: £5
How to Book:
Call the Box Office: 01947 604855 (10am-3pm)

Visit any Tourist Information Centre
In person at Whitby Pavilion: Tickets available 1 hour before a performance starts, on weekends & during the school holidays
All listings are correct at the time of press. Films are subject to change, please check www.whitbypavilion.co.uk for any changes.