Seeing the Larpool Viaduct inspired me to make a "small" diversion when I reached the end of the train line at Whitby. By this time it was around 1:30pm. My original plan for the day had been to spend the afternoon exploring Whitby, grab some dinner there and hopefully take advantage of the early evening light before catching the last bus back to Scarborough. But now I really wanted to find the viaduct and explore it a bit. At the time it seemed easy enough and shouldn't impact my overall plan.

On my map it appeared easy to get near where the viaduct was and I estimated it should only take 30-60min to get there. As I walked away from Whitby there were opportunities to take some snaps.

I managed to find the viaduct quite easily. It used to carry trains across the valley when the train line ran from Whitby to Scarborough. Now it's part of a bike and walking trail.

On one side the river bends as it heads towards Whitby.

On the other side I could see the train line that carried me earlier. I knew there was a walking trail on the river side of the track. I just needed to figure out how to get there!

I found one walking track off the viaduct and weaving below. Totally unexpectedly, I came across this horse hitched to a tree with no one else in sight. At the end of the day I would see the same horse with rider as the bus turned into Robin Hood's Bay on the way back to Scarborough.

I continued on my mission to get to the river side train track. My map app had some tracks marked on it so I had a strong feeling I was going to succeed. In the end it became clear my only option would be to walk to the nearest village Ruswarp where there was a crossing across the train line.

So I walked.

And walked.

And walked.

Before reaching the crossing and getting on the river side of the train track.

Although it was a long and unplanned walk, it was lovely and I made sure I paced myself to enjoy the journey and not just anticipate the destination.

Eventually I made it to the viaduct and it was worth it. 36m high, 279m long, 13 arches and 5,000,000 bricks, it was very impressive.

From there I continued on the river track back to Whitby. I noticed the triangles of the roofs on the buildings on one side of the town as they cascaded down to the northern bank of the river.

Captain Cook came from around this area so there are quite a few Captain Cook themed museums and buildings in Whitby.

Whitby contains a number of streets preserved in time and thankfully devoid of parked traffic. I wandered around as I headed towards the famous abbey on the southern side of the river.

Leading to the abbey are the famous 199 steps.

At the top of the steps is St Mary's church and graveyard. It struck me that these stones were like the souls of the departed still looking down and keeping an eye on the inhabitants of the town below. I can't decide whether that's comforting or creepy.

Next to the church are the ruins of Whitby Abey. These ruins date from the Benedictine abbey constructed around the 13th century. I hadn't been all that interested in exploring the abbey because it seemed quite decayed. But since I was there I decided to get a ticket and look around.

The lush green grass was like a luxurious carpet connecting the ruins.

I was surprised at how substantial the abbey had been.

By this time it was about 5:00pm. My original plan would have involved finding some dinner and then wandering around to do some photography in the late afternoon/early evening light. But I was exhausted. The extra walking to find Larpool Viaduct had not been in my plan and I'd used up my energy. The light was starting to look fantastic, beautifully lighting up the sides of the buildings but I couldn't bear the thought of wandering around for another hour taking pictures. I decided to listen to my body and head back earlier than planned.

I caught the 5:43pm X93 bus back to Scarborough. On the way back the light on the fields and moors was better than I had seen so far, but I just couldn't get the camera out. I was done. I have one more day here tomorrow so I will probably try to hatch a better plan.