Holiday Attractions in WhitbyHoliday attractions and places to visit while visiting Whitby. Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the earliest English poet, lived. The fishing port emerged during the Middle Ages and developed important herring and whaling fleets, and was where Captain Cook learned seamanship. Tourism started in Whitby in Georgian times and developed with the coming of the railway in 1839. Tourist interest is enhanced by its location surrounded by the high ground of the North York Moors national park and heritage coastline and by association with the horror novel Dracula. In the 18th century Whitby developed as a port and centre for shipbuilding and whaling, trade in locally mined alum and the manufacture of Whitby jet jewellery. The abbey ruin at the top of the east cliff is the town's oldest and most prominent landmark with the swing bridge across the River Esk and the harbour sheltered by the grade II listed east and west piers being other significant features. Statues of James Cook and William Scoresby and a whalebone arch all point to a maritime heritage. The town also has a strong literary tradition and has featured in literary works, television and cinema; most famously in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula. Whitby's cultural and historical heritage contribute to the local economy. Tourism and fishing remain the mainstay of the its economy. It is 47 miles (76 km) from York and 22 miles (35 km) from Middlesbrough. There are transport links to the rest of North Yorkshire and North East England. According to the 2001 UK census, Whitby parish had a population of 13,594. The black mineraloid jet, the fossilised remains of the monkey-puzzle tree, is found in the cliffs and on the moors and has been used since the Bronze Age to make beads. Endeavour Wharf, near the railway station, was opened in 1964 by the local council. Timber, paper and chemicals are imported while exports include steel, furnace-bricks and doors. A marina was started in 1979 by dredging the upper harbour and laying pontoons. Light industry and car parks occupy the adjacent land. More pontoons were completed in 1991 and 1995. The Whitby Marina Facilities Centre was opened in June 2010. Whitby is situated on the east coast of Yorkshire facing the North Sea in a deep valley at the mouth of the River Esk. It has been a bridging point since at least medieval times and several bridges have spanned the river. The current bridge, built in 1908, is a swing bridge with a 75-foot (23 m) span that separates the upper and lower harbours which have a total area of around 80.1 acres (32.40 ha). The houses are built of brick or stone, often with red pantiled roofs, in narrow, steep streets, on both sides of the river. The town is surrounded on its landward sides by the moorland of the North York Moors National Park and the North Sea abuts it on the seaward side. The coastal areas are designated part of the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Heritage Coast. This stretch of coast, known as the 'Dinosaur Coast', the 'Fossil Coast' or the 'Jurassic Coast', is around 35 miles (56 km) long, stretching from Staithes in the north, to Flamborough in the East Riding of Yorkshire. At Whitby dinosaur footprints are visible on the beach. The rock strata contain fossils and organic remains including jet. Fossils include the petrified bones of an almost complete crocodile. Smaller fossils include ammonite, or "snake stones" from the alum shales and at Whitby Scar and nautilites in the lower beds of the lias strata. The Hildoceras genus of ammonite is named in honour of St. Hilda of Whitby. The Rotunda Museum in Scarborough has a comprehensive collection of fossils from the area. The harbour and the mouth of the River Esk are on a geological fault. On the east side the cliff is tall, 187 feet (57 m), and consists of alternating layers of shale, sandstone and clay. On the west side the cliff is much lower and has a deep capping of boulder clay over a sandstone base making it less stable and liable to slippage. According to the 2001 UK census, Whitby parish had a population of 13,594 living in 5,973 households. St Mary's church is an ancient foundation, St Ninian's opened in Baxtergate in 1778 and St John's, also on Baxtergate, was consecrated in 1850. St Michael's was opened in 1856 and St Hilda's on the West Cliff was built in 1885. The Roman Catholic church dedicated to St Hilda was built in 1867 on Baxtergate. There are places of worship for nonconformists including a United Reform Church; The Mission to Seafarers maintains a Christian ministry and has a chapel, reading room and recreational facilities. The economy is governed by the changing fortunes of fishing, tourism and to some extent, manufacturing. The jet industry declined at the end of the nineteenth century but eight shops sell jet jewellery, mainly as souvenirs to tourists. The harbour has a total area of about 80 acres (32 ha) and is used by commercial, fishing and pleasure craft. Inshore fishing, particularly for crustaceans and line fish, takes place along the coast. Lobsters, brown and velvet crabs are important to the local fishery. From May to August, salmon is found in the Esk and small open boats are licensed to net these off the harbour entrance. There are around 40 licensed angling party boats. The commercial catch is no longer herring but has been replaced by cod, haddock, and other fish caught within 12 miles (19 km) of the coast. A fish market on the quayside operates as need arises. The ready supply of fresh fish has resulted in an abundance of "chippies" in the town, including the Magpie Cafe which Rick Stein has described as the best fish and chip shop in Britain. The Whitby Marina project, jointly funded by Scarborough Borough Council, Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund was developed to diversify the local economy. The remaining shipbuilding firm, Parkol Marine, is a family run business on the east side of the river. Founded in 1988, the boatyard has two berths for new build and a dry dock for repairs. Whitby Business Park is a 49 acres (20 ha) site located by the A171 road, 2 miles (3.2 km) from the harbour on the southern outskirts of the town. Companies on the park include Supreme Plastics, Whitby Seafoods and Botham's of Whitby alongside major retailers, Homebase and Sainsbury's. Whitby is situated on the A171 road from Scarborough to Guisborough which originally passed over the swing bridge. A high level bridge over the Esk Valley was built in 1980 to avoid the bridge and ease congestion in the town centre. The A174 accesses coastal towns to the north and the A169 crosses the moors to Pickering. Whitby is served by the Yorkshire Coastliner bus line, operating from Leeds, Tadcaster, York, Scarborough, Bridlington, Pickering and Malton with connections beyond Yorkshire. Arriva runs bus services connecting Whitby to Scarborough and Middlesbrough. The nearest airport, about 45-mile (72 km) miles from Whitby, is Durham Tees Valley Airport, which has a regular service from Amsterdam, Schipol airport. The town is served by Whitby railway station which is the terminus of the Esk Valley Line from Middlesbrough operated by Northern Rail. In 2007 the North Yorkshire Moors Railway began a summer service between Pickering and Whitby operated by steam locomotives. The Scarborough and Whitby Railway following a scenic route along the coast was built in 1885 requiring construction of the red brick Larpool Viaduct across the Esk Valley into Whitby. The line closed as a result of the Beeching axe in 1965 and the trackbed is used as a footpath, bridleway and by cyclists. The coastal section of the 110-mile (180 km) Cleveland Way National Trail passes through Whitby. The swing bridge spanning the Esk divides the upper and lower harbours and joins the east and west sides of the town. The bridge allowed the town to spread onto the west bank, whilst the east bank, the Haggerlythe, is dominated by St Mary's Church and the ruins of Whitby Abbey which is owned by English Heritage. St Mary's Church is a grade I listed building on the site of a Saxon church. Over time it has been extensively altered and enlarged but retains several features including box pews. The East Cliff is quite a distance by road from the church, the alternative is to climb the 199 steps of the "Church Stairs" or use the footpath called "Caedmon's Trod". The stone stairs, which replaced the original wooden steps, were built about 200 years ago and renovated between 2005 and 2006. There are landings to assist coffin bearers on their journey to the graveyard on the cliff top. The harbour is sheltered by the grade II listed east and west piers each with a lighthouse and beacon with fixed lights. The west lighthouse, of 1835, is the taller at 84 feet (25.5 m) and the east lighthouse, built in 1855, is 54 feet (16.5 m) high. On the west pier extension is a foghorn that sounds a blast every 30 seconds during fog. On the West Cliff is a statue of Captain James Cook who served his apprenticeship in the town, and a whalebone arch, commemorates the whaling industry. It is the second such arch, the original is preserved in Whitby Archives Heritage Centre. By the inner harbour is a statue commemorating William Scoresby, designer of the crow's nest. On the outskirts of town to the west is the 19th-century Sneaton Castle built by James Wilson. Alongside it is St Hilda's Priory, the mother house of the Order of the Holy Paraclete.Frank Meadow Sutcliffe left a photographic record of the town, harbour, fishing and residents in late-Victorian times. A gallery of his work is located on Flowergate. Pannett Park was built on land purchased by a local philanthropist and politician Alderman Robert Pannett in 1902. After his death in 1928, the trust he set up created a public park and art gallery. In 1931 Whitby Museum was built behind the gallery by the Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society. It holds a collection of the archaeological and social history of jet and has on display a "Hand of Glory". There has been a lifeboat in Whitby since 1802 and the old boathouse, built in 1895 and used until 1957, is a museum displaying the Robert and Ellen Robson lifeboat, built in 1919. The ancient Penny Hedge ceremony is performed on the eve of Ascension Day commemorating a penance imposed by the abbot on miscreant hunters in the Middle Ages. The hunters using a knife costing a penny had to cut wood in Eskdaleside and take it to Whitby harbour where it was made into a hedge that would survive three tides. This tradition is carried out annually on the east side of the upper harbour. The Pavilion Theatre built in the 1870s in West Cliff hosts a range of events during the summer months. For over four decades the town has hosted the Whitby Folk Week and a bi-annual Whitby Gothic Weekend for members of the Goth subculture. "Whitby Now" is an annual live music event featuring local bands in the Pavilion which has taken place since 1991. Since 2008, the Bram Stoker Film Festival has taken place in October. Wind surfing, sailing and surfing take place off the beaches between Whitby and Sandsend and the area is visited by divers. Whitby has various sports facilities including the town cricket and football pitches and tennis courts. The Cleveland Way Long Distance Footpath follows the coast between Saltburn and Filey running along the developed frontage of Whitby. The Whitby Regatta takes place annually over three days in August. The competition between three rowing clubs – Whitby Friendship ARC, Whitby Fishermen's ARC and Scarborough ARC – forms the backbone of the weekend. The event has expanded to include a fair on the pier, demonstrations, fireworks and military displays – including the spectacle of the Red Arrows aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force. Lewis Carroll stayed at 5, East Terrace between July and September 1854. James Russell Lowell, the American writer, visited Whitby while ambassador in London 1880–85, staying at 3 Wellington Terrace, West Cliff. |
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