Glaisdale lies some 10 miles inland from Whitby in North Yorkshire along the minor Esk Valley Road running westward from Sleights to Castleton. The Village consists of terraces of slate-roofed cottages - this was once an ironstone mining village in the 19th Century. The village is built on a hillside as well as being surrounded by steep hills. The Pack Horse bridge across the river Esk was built in 1619 by Thomas Ferries, the son of a moorland farmer. Whilst courting Agnes, his intended, he had to swim acoross the Esk. Her father, who was a landowner thought that he was below his daughter. Thomas decided to go to sea to find his fortune and on returning he would build a bridge, which he did.