A warm Whitby welcome awaits

Embraced by moors on three sides and with the North Sea on the other, Whitby is a town full of character with an appeal that brings people back again and again.

It has inspired poets, writers and artists who still respond to its allure as much today.

Here, the cowherd Caedmon sang of the Creation, and English poetry was born; Bram Stoker was inspired to write Dracula, creating a classic novel; and famous Victorian photographer Frank Meadow Sutcliffe made outstanding sepia records of the life and people of the town and surrounding country.

Captain James Cook was an apprentice in Whitby and chose his ships from here to carry him on his great explorations.

Until the mid-18th century, when a turnpike road from Pickering was built, the sea was the town’s main means of communication to the outside world and then Victorian times brought the railway linking it to Pickering, York, Middlesbrough and Scarborough.

Bisected by the River Esk, the town has two sides, both very different. Along the winding narrow streets of East side the streets buzz as much today as they once did on market day in the 17th century.

Fascinating and irregular streets offer a range of more unusual shops and lead to the bottom of 199 steps which rise to the magnificent but stark ruins of Whitby Abbey.

Close by is St Mary’s Parish Church with its old fashioned box pews, triple-decker pulpit and barley-sugar-twist column of the Chol-mondley family pew.

On this side of the river a few of the jet shops still trade as a reminder of an industry that once supported 1,400 workers in the workshops and mines. Other traders have come and gone as needs have changed over the centuries — at least 20 houses in Church Street were once public houses.

The old market square with its stalls, casual entertainment and cobbles has a charm all its own and is surrounded by a mix of cafes, gift shops and tiny buildings.

A charter for a market was first given in 1261 and in later times public whippings of thieves took place in the square, where once there stood stocks.

Fish still plays a large part in the town and fresh fish as well as smoked kippers can be found here alongside the many fish and chip restaurants popular with locals and visitors.

On the far side is the fish quay where trawlers and the smaller cobles unload their catches for sale at the market.

Behind are the attractions of holiday making, amusement arcades, assorted souvenir shops and seafood stalls.

Narrow streets with a variety of more modern shops climb to the hotels, boarding houses and gardens from the 1800s.

One restaurant on the quay side is in a building that was once used as the town’s baths, museum and library and which was erected in the 1820s.

On the top of West Cliff stands a statue of the great mariner and explorer Captain James Cook, who was an apprentice in the town and who chose Whitby-built ships for his historic voyages of discovery.

Sandy beaches, a Spa complex for entertainment, plenty of pubs and restaurants and access to many attractions inland as well roll together to make the perfect package holiday.