The Esk Valley Railway is certainly one of the best railway journeys in the North of England, and could be considered far more picturesque than the more famed North York Moors Railway. It passes through woods, valleys, pasture, agricultural plain, moorland and industrial landscape; whereas the North York Moors Railway rumbles its way through the heavily-wooded Newton Dale with almost no view except brooding forest.Charles Dickens travelled the Esk Valley route from Whitby to Grosmont when it formed a part of the Whitby-Pickering horse-drawn railway and he compared the journey to a tightrope walk over the Niagara Falls. The Esk twists and turns so much that the railway crosses over the river eight times in a half mile stretch. This book is a guide to the scenery and delights of the Esk Valley Railway Through Time.