The village Westerdale village is a single street of around 25 houses, to the north east of a small stream which joins the Esk near Hunters Sty bridge. There is a church –
Christ Church, Westerdale and a small, disused Methodist chapel. Close to the church can be found the Village Hall (formerly a small schoolhouse), a postbox and a telephone box. Ironstone was formerly mined in the village and the church sits on a plateau where the ironstone is just over thick. The village is south of
Guisborough, south east of
Stokesley and west of Whitby.
Westerdale Side Westerdale Side is part of Westerdale, but is best approached from near the neighbouring village of
Castleton. It is accessed by a narrow road running along the southwest of Castleton Rigg.
Westerdale Moor Westerdale Moor is an extensive upland area surrounding the farmland in Westerdale. At its highest, Westerdale Moor rises to 429 metres in the vicinity of
Old Ralph and Young Ralph, and Baysdale Moor to the south-west reaches 433 metres at Stony Ridge – the second highest point of the
North York Moors. Much of the moor is covered by
peat and
heather and descending into the dale,
bilberry and some
bracken can be found, with
Soft rush and
sphagnum in boggy areas. Bracken is no longer widespread on Westerdale Moor, since an eradication programme by a previous landowner. There are some trees by the streams which are tributaries of the Esk – mainly Alder, Mountain Ash, Birch, Oak and Holly. Near Stockdale beck are fragments of ancient woodland on steep slopes and, as in nearby Baysdale, a few junipers can be found. During the 19th century, the moor was the site of several collieries.
Failed rocket launch On 15 July 1999, the Moor was the site of a failed
rocket launch when two amateur space
rocket scientists, Alan Bullock and Jago Packer, hoped to break the British rocket launch height record of 20,000 feet and launch the object into space. At the end of its launch countdown, the top half of the nine-foot rocket, named White Rose, exploded and flames emitted from its base. White Rose, which was powered by fuel the two scientists developed themselves, disintegrated on its launchpad, never leaving the ground. The pair were hoping the venture would help them win a £6,400,000 ($10,000,000) X Prize for being the first amateurs to launch a rocket into space, and formed the White Rose Rocket Society for the occasion. Mere hours after the rocket's explosion, the two scientists announced their plans to rebuild the rocket with a different design and launch it again. whose roving reporter
Richard Mackney was there to report on the intended launch, interviewing Packer and communicating back to
Esther McVey and
Eamonn Holmes in the studio. McVey hoped the launch would be a "large leap for mankind" whereas Mackney believed it would be superior to
science fiction films. Dividing and stock-proofing the fields, there are many miles of dry stone walls in several styles – and built over a very long timespan. There are also some good hedges and in recent years much work has been done to safeguard and improve both walls and hedges through a National Park sponsored programme.
Westerdale Hall Westerdale Hall is a substantial stone and slate-roofed building, located close to the west side of the village. It was designed by
Thomas Henry Wyatt and originally built as a shooting lodge, mainly for
grouse shooting in the late summer and autumn. After the
Second World War it became a popular
youth hostel, but is now a private residence with many of its original external features remaining intact.
Hunters Sty Bridge An ancient stone arch over the
River Esk near the village. By the road towards
Kildale, but the modern road crosses the Esk by a ford nearby. This route would have been well travelled in the past, as the way to
Baysdale Abbey and
Gisborough Priory. The bridge was restored by the Duncombe family in the late 19th century (a date stone on the downstream side states 1874), but the underside of the arch retains interesting Medieval ribbed stonework. It is thought the
Knights Templar may have been involved in the construction; it is of that period.
The Esklets The
River Esk rises as numerous small streams in the upper part of Westerdale, known as "The Esklets" – which is close to neighbouring
Farndale. Until recently, water was extracted from these streams for public supply but this is no longer the case and the old pumping station stands empty. ==Links with the Knights Templar==