Whitby is situated in the North of England and is a seaside resort; it’s classed as a Town and is very busy during the summer season.
It is divided really into two parts the East Side, which is the older part, and the West Side, which is the more modern part.
These are separated by an old Swing bridge, which regularly opens to let passing fishing boats through. There is a cobbled Street that contains the more Olde Worlde shops, gifts that are a little different, plus a Glass shop that makes ornaments and the famous Lucky Ducks that you can actually watch the glass being blown. Old-fashioned photography studios let you and the family dress in Victorian clothing and have a photograph done in the old sepia style. For Sweet lovers there are two shops that make and sell their own delicious sweets and fudge, everything from original to liqueur chocolates are also made here. Shepherds purse is a large whole food shop that sells everything from Jams to pulses and even choose your own coffee beans to be ground while you wait. They also offer a whole food and organic restaurant.
The market here is on a Wednesday and Saturday in the Market place, this has clothing and household bargains and more..
If you continue walking along this side you will find various public houses, more of the traditional kind, such as The Black Horse and at the end The Board Inn. These all serve food daily and are well worth a try.
Right at the end of this street is the Kipper house, this is very well known and you can actually see The kippers being smoked as well as buy them here per pair, now these are delicious if you like them and are not expensive around £2 a pair.
Also along here are the 199 steps, if you feel fit you can climb these to the cliff top and visit the famous Whitby Abbey. It is situated at the very top along with Saint Mary’s church which in itself is well worth a visit as its never been updated and has no electricity at all. Gravestones, which are mainly 18th Century, surround this and most can still be read. Back to the Abbey, it is of course a ruin but its lovely to look round, you almost feel you are in a time gone by, it’s a huge ruin and as it’s the highest point in Whitby, you can see it from all over.
For those who would like to see this and feel the steps are a little too much a tour bus runs every hour from the new part of Whitby which I will tell you about now.
The West Side has all the modern shops, such as Woolworths, Superdrug, Boots and clothing stores. There are also supermarkets. Here you will find the bus and railway stations, which have details of daily excursions to the village’s roundabout. Plus you can get tickets for the tour here.
From this side of Whitby you can take a stroll along the quay and pier, if you so wish you can book a boat trip or a fishing trip for around £3.50 an adult and £1.50 a child which will give you around 30 minutes at sea…however being water shy, I can’t actually tell you what they are like, but I have heard they are very enjoyable.
The pier itself caters more for the family scene, there is a fortune Teller of course, and The Dracula Experience, a walk through that will leave you with nightmares for a week! (in case you were wondering about Dracula, well if any of you have read Bram Stokers book , it tells you that he landed at the foot of Whitby Abbey in a boat, hence our connection with the Vampire himself.)
Further along the pier are three amusement arcades, one has a large fun house above and is ideal for 2-10 year olds, you can also get a meal deal to play for 30 minutes then a hot meal and drink afterwards from the very good snack bar they have.
There is also ten-pin bowling and a mini golf course too.
Several excellent fish restaurants are found on the pier, Fusco, s and the Magpie, some of you may have heard of the magpie as it’s very well known and a lot of Celebs come here just to eat there. It offers the most fantastic choice of freshly caught fish dishes and home-made sweets and I would say it’s the best around for miles, if you are thinking of going I advise you to book as the queue can be right along the pier at busy times.
If you don’t want to eat in you can get fish and chips to take away or freshly dressed crabs and shellfish from one of several stalls.
Why not have a stroll to the end of the pier and breath in that sea air!
You can access the beach from the end of pier road, it runs for miles and is usually pretty clean, you do however need to take note of tide times as the water here comes in pretty quickly and quite a few people have been stranded.
A lift takes you up from the beach and here you can find the Spa theatre, this is mainly seasonal and offers evening theatre, plus the pavilion has daily family shows such as the chuckle brothers and family disco’s. Plus afternoons provide tea dances and more quiet activities.
In This part of the West Cliff there is also another miniature golf course, a children’s train and bumper boats, go carts and trampolines. Most of the hotels and guesthouses are situated in this area, including the Royal Hotel. You should be able to book at anytime, as they are not usually full unless you come in August. During August bank holiday week Whitby has a huge Regatta with funfair and fireworks, the fair stretches the full length of the pier and there is lots going on from Air and police displays to fancy dress competitions.
Also around this time is Folk week, this is also very busy and nearly every pub and hall is filled with folk performers.
If this doesn’t appeal how about a gothic weekend? twice a year in May and October thousands of Goths travel to Whitby foe a weekend of music and drinking!!, they are all really nice people and create a wonderful atmosphere with all their costumes.
Well I hope you like my virtual tour of Whitby and don’t think I have left anything out!
Have a visit soon.