Whitby

Whitby, built on either side of the River Esk is a lovely sight: majestic ruins high on a bleak, windy headland; rows of cottages climbing up the hillsides; and, gazing over the scene, a statue of the town’s most famous mariner, Captain Cook. Cook circled the world twice, explored the coasts of Australia and New Zealand, and charted Newfoundland and the North American Pacific coast before being killed by natives in Hawaii. His home on Cooks Home Grape Lane is a small museum. Near Cook’s statue is a whalebone arch commemorating this photogenic old town’s importance as a whaling port. The whaling ships are a thing of the distant past: now just a few fishing boats bob in this large, sheltered harbor. Explore the area of the town that lies below the abbey, for this is the quaintest, most historic portion of Whitby. During the summer the town is filled with holidaymakers.