Ruswarp is the first village upstream from Whitby on the River Esk, and is also at the tidal limit of the river, as marked by a weir. Just above the weir is Ruswarp Pleasure Boats, from where it is possible to hire rowing boats or canoes to explore the rest of the river. At the right time of year it is also possible to watch Salmon leaping up the weir, for the Esk is Yorkshire’s only tidal Salmon river.
The village is somewhat dominated by bridges – the village itself contains both a road bridge and rail bridge (as well as a working station), while just downstream is the Larpool or Esk Viaduct, which used to carry the Whitby-Scarborough railway. This viaduct took three years to build and contains 5,250,000 bricks. It is best seen from the minor road that runs along the southern side of the Esk, starting just to the south of the road bridge in Ruswarp and ending where the road from Scarborough enters Whitby.
Ruswarp was the birthplace of William Bateson (1861-1926), a biologist and geneticist who was the first person to use the term “genetics” and a co-founder of the Journal of Genetics.
Grid Reference: NZ 889 091
Un-manned station, boat hire