River Esk, North Yorkshire

Owing to its rural nature, the river is clean and healthy, supporting a wealth of wildlife. Salmon spawn right up through Eskdale and a number of leaps are provided to enable them to travel through weirs on the course. There are clearly visible examples at Ruswarp, where the tidal stretch through to Whitby begins, and at Sleights. Around Whitby the Esk has a large population of sea trout, and the river is noted for freshwater pearl mussels (the only river in Yorkshire to have them), although they are threatened with extinction owing to buildups of silt in the river. In 2021 conservationists moved the mussel colony into a specialist facility to encourage them to release their young, which…