One reason so many families return to Whitby is that adults and children can't wait to experience the many delights this quaint fishing town has to offer. Whitby is perhaps one of the most picturesque ports along the east coast of England. The east cliff is dominated by the magnificent cliff top ruins of the abbey, with its famous 199 steps that lead up to the parish Church of St Mary, one of the finest Anglo Saxon churches in the country. Its churchyard is famous for providing the setting from which Brahm Stoker wrote his classic novel - Dracula. The steps lead down to narrow alleys and quaint cobble streets. The busy quayside, is littered with small terraced harbourside houses and small crafts, curios, and antiques shops filled with treasures. These and many other historical attractions make Whitby a very interesting, relaxing, fun and educational place to visit, at any time of the year.
Situated along the north east coast on one of Britain’s finest stretches of coastline, Whitby has everything from its towering cliffs, to safe sandy beaches, lovely bays. Scenic villages surround Whitby and are just a short drive from the town centre. Whitby has been a historical port for more than 1,000 years and even though the shipping industry has all but gone it remains a vibrant seafarers' town today. Although the Jet industry is a shadow of its glory days it is still a unique asset to Whitby's culture. As well as the 'jet' industry Whitby boasts many fine craft shops.
Whitby is renowned for its 'fish and chips'; indeed there are many fine restaurants and cafes around the harbour. We have been fortunate to be the chosen location by a number of celebrity chefs including Rick Stein and James Martin. It would be remiss of me not to add some comments about the many fine public houses and restaurants that Whitby has too offer. During the summer months like most tourist destinations the pubs and restaurants are extremely busy. Indeed the better fish and chip restaurants like Trenchers opposite the Tourist Information Centre and Royal Fisheries on the Pier Road often have lengthy queues such is the quality of their produce.
A visit to Whitby would not be complete without acquiring some of Whitby's locally smoked kippers as much as a visit to the “Frank Meadow Sutcliffe Gallery” is a must; the galleries contain photographs of Whitby in days gone by. On the east side of the town there is a photographic gallery equipped with Victorian costumes, which enable you to have your own Victorian style photograph taken as a treasured memento of your stay. The narrow streets and alleys still bustle as they have done for centuries. Today folklore and tradition are still very much part of Whitby's character in which visitors soon find themselves involved.
Whitby is blessed with two fine beaches and children will love looking for fossils along the coastline which has in the past revealed some fine antiquities related to the Jurassic era. Alternatively just sit back, relax and watch the tide ebb and flow on the golden sands.
Whitby is well known for its connection to Captain James Cook, as well as the father and son whaling masters of the Scoresby family. Whitby was for a number of years a spiritual home of the full size replica of "Captain Cooks Bark HM Endeavour". The full scale replica was unique craft and during the circumnavigating tours it made of Great Britain Whitby was the preferred port of call. On each visit to Whitby, the vessel brought in thousands of interested people keen to see for themselves the vessel.
The replica has now returned to her home port in Australia and is a static museum. There is however, a smaller replica of the Endeavour that operates trips 'round the bay'. The boat is owned and run by its Scarborough owner from near the in the harbour. More recently the port was the winter staging berth for "The Grand Turk" a large sailing vessel which featured in the hit television drama series Hornblower and more importantly played a key role in the commemorations of the "Battle of Trafalgar".
Each year Whitby play host to performing arts, dance, music and carnivals, Musicport is into its eight year and as a world music festival it features many international artists, it has a website full of information. Two major features that form part of Whitby are the Folk Festival and Regatta. These attractions help bring in many thousand visitors and provide a welcome boost to the local economy.
The North Yorkshire Moors Forest Park is only a short drive away offering many nature trails & picnic areas. The scenic moors are home to a prestigious working steam railway, which runs from Whitby to Grosmont and Pickering. Goathland is a main feature in a hit television drama "Heartbeat", although in the show it is known as "Aidensfield". Goathland was one of the locations used in the filming of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway website even lists information for those considering becoming a volunteer. If you are truly interested in steam trains then a visit to the National Railway Museum is a must. This fascinating museum is the largest of its kind with exhibits including the world famous "Flying Scotsman" its website.
Just ten minutes drive from the centre of the town the "Trailways Centre" features a host of cycles for hire. The centre's bikes range from small children’s bikes through to tandems and even adult bikes with a children’s carrier attached. As well as cycle hire the centre has refreshments, free customer parking, toilets and cycle repairs and spares. The centre is situated alongside the old Whitby to Robin Hoods Bay railway line. No longer in use its picturesque cycle way leads to Robin Hoods Bay and for those fit enough on to Ravenscar, Cloughton and even Scarborough. The centre has its own website Trailways Centre full of useful information.
For those visiting Whitby during fine weather there are a number of pleasure boats operating out of the harbour. One particular owner has two vessels one an ex charter fishing vessel used primarily for trips up the river whilst his larger boat offers short trips or longer excursions from the harbour and wonderful sunset cruises. This particular boat has upper and lower decks with covered areas for those seeking avoid any inclement weather, with a small licensed bar and toilets, further details can be found on a dedicated website The Yellow Boats.
Of the vessels operating pleasure trips out of Whitby harbour, the ex lifeboat "Mary Ann Hepworth" is the original charter vessel. The vessel is an ex lifeboat, which actually served here in Whitby. When it arrived in 1938 no one knew at the time that it would go onto lay claim to have been one of the longest serving RNLI lifeboats, it has a unique history and character that no other vessel can hope to achieve, indeed no trip to Whitby would be complete without sampling one of the trips out on the ex lifeboat. In service the lifeboat was launched 372 times, saving 201 lives.
After purchasing the lifeboat, "Barry Sneddon" a colourful character and ex lifeboat crew member himself set about restoring the boat back to as near original as possible, including returning the boat to the same clours used throughout its use as a RNLI lifeboat. It is comforting to know that he holds the heritage of Whitby as something to be proud of. Barry started running pleasure trips to sea from the bandstand steps back in 1989 and runs from March to October the same as all the pleasure boats.He prides himself on providing trips that are both safe fun and extremely interesting. Over the years Barry has amused many school trips that have ventured aboard the former lifeboat. Mary Ann Hepworth and Barry have also featured numerous times in the popular television drama series "Heartbeat" as well as a series aptly named "One Summer In Whitby". He has his own website that is currently undergoing some redevelopment but it is still worth a vist, just follow the link proveded here.
A Comprehensive Leisure Centre
A Victorian Jet Works Museum, Along With Numerous Jet Jewellery Shops
Captain Cook Museum
Dracula Experience Museum
Indoor Heated Swimming Pool
Pannett Park Museum & Gallery
River & Sea Fishing Facilities
St Mary's Church, Adjacent To The Abbey
The Coliseum Cinema
The Simulator, A Moving Experience Ride
The Spa Pavilion Theatre
Robin Hoods Bay is well known for its stories of smugglers who made good use of the many passage ways and inlets around the bay. Cars are prevented from driving down to the bottom of bay which is very steep, although there are ample parking spaces at the top. Robin Hoods Bay has many quaint book and antique shops as well as a number of pleasant eating options. Traveling north from Whitby, Runswick Bay is a picturesque location and like Robin Hoods Bay it has a rather steep hill leading down to the shoreline, again cars sould not venture down to the bottom.
The Sealife Centre at Scarborough is the ideal place to discover a magical underwater world. It holds many beautiful and strange creatures and is also a marine sanctuary and seal hospital. The Futurist Theatre is not only used as a cinema but also for many theatrical productions and tribute shows.
For the younger person "Bunnyland", is a must see opportunity for rabbits and guinea pigs, the animals are kept in beautiful surroundings and treated with great care. The attraction is situated on the edge of the moors between Whitby and Guisborough off the A171 onto the B1366. In and around the Yorkshire coast I have found that the tourism bureau have a useful website with a wealth of information relating to Whitby, Scarborough and Filey. The district of Ryedale encompasses a wide range of visitor attractions with too many list individually, more information can be found at their website. If you are interested in historic churches and in and around Whitby and the Esk Valley there are plenty to choose from.
Eden Camp is a very interactive modern history theme museum. This exciting attraction is housed over 6 acres of interactive living history. There is so much to see and do it is worth allowing 3 to 4 fours hours to experience it all. The camp has up to 30 large huts that are set out in many themes recreating the war years, great fun for all ages and very informative too.
Flamingo Land is a short drive from Whitby and is an attraction for all ages. As well as a large zoo the theme park's funfair features rides guaranteed to provide an adrenalin rush for all ages.
York Minster is one of the jewels of any visit to York complete with an opportunity for you to climb all the way to the top of the tower, if you are fit enough? The Jorvik Viking Centre is another of Yoks fascinating attractions and is undoubtedly well worth a visit. Many people combine a trip to York with a visit to Castle Howard a wonderful building used for the drama series "Brideshead Revisited", the large mansion has large well kept gardens amongst its many features.
These and many other historical attractions makes Whitby a very interesting, relaxing, fun and educational place to visit, at any time of the year.
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