Alan Whitworth: 19 books

Located at the foot of Lythe Bank, Sandsend is a picturesque village set against a backdrop of cliffs and meandering streams, which lead to the sandy beach. Known to the Romans and Vikings, it has a long and distinguished history and was once a prominent industrial centre in the local economy. However...

Ruswarp is a village on the boundary of the National Park. Crossing the River Esk downstream is an impressive viaduct, 120 feet high, which was built (using 5,250,000 bricks) to carry the Scarborough-to-Whitby railway line, which was closed in 1965. The viaduct is now owned by Sustrans and carries...

Many parish churches and chapels are the oldest building in their town or village; some of them may be over a thousand years old. Throughout their long history these pillars of community have usually witnessed change, sometimes beyond recognition. Countless houses of worship bear the scars of trials...

Today the Victoria Cross remains the supreme British award for bravery. It takes precedence over all other awards and decorations. During its 160-year history, since the first medals were given for gallantry during the Crimean War in the 1850s, 1,357 of these medals have been won, and almost fifty...

Thornton, on the outskirts of Bradford, was actually the birthplace of the Brontes, not the West Riding moorland village of Haworth. Patrick Bronte came here in 1815, with a wife and two young children and left for Haworth five years later with six children, the last four being the most significant...

The picturesque village of Thornton Dale was voted the prettiest village in Yorkshire at the beginning of the tourist era in the 1920s and '30s and was subsequently renamed the more resonant Thornton-le-Dale. The village has more competition for the title today and although still popular with tourists...

The Abbey, Britain's largest monastic ruin, was founded in 1132 by 13 Benedictine monks seeking a simpler life. Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 by Henry VIII, the Abbey buildings and over 500 acres (202ha) of land were sold by the Crown to Sir Richard Gresham. The property was...

To visit Whitby's 'Yards' is to step back in time. Hardly changed from the Middle Ages, this is where one can still meet old Whitby - a secret Whitby - unspoilt and untroubled by the holiday visitor. The yards, alleyways and ghauts are fascinating places to explore. Though often private, there are...

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...

The upper reaches of the East Coast of Yorkshire are a much visited region. In particular the ancient seaport of Whitby is a popular destination with holidaymakers. From this delightfully traditional seaside resort it is possible to make easy excursions further up the coast to Sandsend, Runswick Bay,...

Yorkshire remains the largest county in England, and to those born within its boundaries it is unquestionably the greatest; whether this pride is justified or not, it would surely be difficult to find a county with more claims to the visitor's interest. These include the Yorkshire Dales and the North...

The North York Moors National Park came into being in 1952. Covering an area of 554 square miles, it is the largest of the National Parks. Bordered on the east by a rugged coastline against the North Sea, the dominating feature of this Park is the vast central upland tract of moorland that provides...

The author's interest in windmills reaches back well over ten years and culminated in Yorkshire Windmills, published in 1991, and the foundation of the Yorkshire Windmill Society. A reviewer in the Yorkshire Archaeological Journal wrote that Yorkshire Windmills was 'clearly a labour of love ...and...

The River Esk rises in the Cleveland hills and flows east to Whitby, on the east coast of Yorkshire. Today, most of the course of the river lies within the North Yorkshire Moors National Park, an outstanding area of countryside that surrounds the ancient seaport of Whitby. During the nineteenth century,...