A great steamaholics day out!

While touring the North Yorshire Moors back in 2007 I came across photos of a quite memorable day spent while based at Wardle Rigg Farm CL site in Newtondale Forest.

The forest road to the CL isn't much more than a reasonable quality dirt track - it is a forest track really - and caused some concern getting there. However, once there it is very much well out of the way!

Anyway, we wanted a day out in Whitby so what other method than to use the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and pick it up at the wonderful Levisham station! Even the drive down to the station was quite memorable, being a forest track to begin with, then a tarmac road but single track with passing places. It is shown only as a 'white' road on the OS maps!

Levisham station has been restored to 1913 consition and is a wonderful place to wait watching down the long straight track section from Pickering and listening for the sound of the engine!

We had to be there to catch the 9:00am from Pickering, so it arrived at Levisham around 9:15am. But what's this? It is practically full!!! We eventually found a couple of seats, but it seemed all the OAP groups had come up from York on a days outing!

Anyway, we got to Grosmont, to find that on the train going back down the line was none other than Sir Nigel Gresley! Quite a site, and a wonderful spectacle as it left Grosmont shouting its challenge into the surrounding hills and hissing huffing as it left!

We then went on our way and had a great day out in Whitby, visited the wonderful Whitby Museum (warning this is privately owned so they do charge entry), had wonderful fish and chips for lunch, and walked up to see the abbey on top of the hill. It was a steep climb though!

then it was back down in time to watch our steam train arrive, shunt and run round, and back to Levisham, from where we drove back to our little wheeled 'home'! A great day out!

Chris