The Wonders of Whitby

W
hitby is a small town built on the sides of a steep valley of the River Esk in North Yorkshire. It is dominated by the cliff-top ruins of the beautiful 13th century Whitby Abbey. It is a fishing port and tourist destination and has been featured in literary works, television and cinema, most famously in Bram Stoker's Dracula.

A traditional maritime town, with old cobbled streets and picturesque fishing cottages, Whitby has fine stretches of coast with spectacular cliffs, clean sandy beaches and bays.

The ancient cliffs yield many fossils. Whole skeletons of pterodactyls have been found in the past and the town crest features three ammonites. The black mineral jet is the fossilized remains of decaying wood. It is found in the cliffs and since the Bronze Age it has been used to make beads and jewellery. The Romans mined jet extensively but the popularity of Whitby jet was at its peak after Queen Victoria wore it as mourning jewellery for Prince Albert.

T
he modern Port receives a wide range of cargoes such as grain, steel products, timber and potash. Vessels of up to 3,000 tonnes are received routinely at the Wharf, which can handle two ships simultaneously.

Whitby also has a fish market on the quayside which operates as need and opportunity arise. Small fishing boats are available for part hire and it was a popular diversion for miners to go sea fishing during the miner's strike in the 1980s.



Dracula Kitty by myrtieshuman


An abundance of "chippies" in the town includes the Magpie Cafe. Rick Stein described it as the best fish and chip shop in Britain and we can certainly vouch for the fish and chips personally!

Movie Monsters by FunGraphix

B
ram Stoker's famous Dracula was partly set in Whitby. Bram Stoker spent some time in Whitby in the summer of 1890 and discovered the name "Dracula." at the public library. He borrowed a book entitled An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia (1820) by William Wilkinson. (The notes he made are housed at the Rosenbach Museum in Philadelphia.)

The infamous Count arrived on a ship washed ashore in the harbour and Lucy watched from the churchyard as the sun set over Kettleness but could not remember how many steps she climbed. Stoker's story incorporated various pieces of Whitby folklore. Following the Baron on the Dracula Walk fills in the pieces of how Bram Stoker wrote his classic novel.



Deaths Epitaph by persimew

W
hitby hosts a biennial Gothic Weekend, which is a festival for members of the Goth subculture. Guest arrive at hotels with floodlit hearses and coffins! Apparently the Cheeky Girls regularly attend to keep in touch with their Transylvanian roots. I personally don't know how many of the names in Dracula are on Whitby gravestones, my guess is quite a few. It might be fun to go looking next at the names on the stones near the cliff edge!

We sat and ate fish and chips on the Bram Stoker Memorial seat. It was the view from this spot that inspired Stoker's Whitby scenes. You can see the harbour, the ruined Abbey, the Church, and the stone steps and just to the left is the cliff where the "Demeter" came ashore, a dead seaman lashed to its wheel.

The inscription on the bench reads:

"The view from this spot inspired Bram Stoker (1847-1912) to use Whitby as the setting of part of his world-famous novel DRACULA. This seat was erected by Scarborough Borough Council and the Dracula Society to mark the 68th Anniversary of Stoker's death - April 20th 1980".

O
n the East Cliff you can see the ruins of Whitby Abbey and St Mary's Church with its Gothic gravestones at the cliff edge.

The Abbey is owned by English Heritage and is entered through the restored Banqueting House which contains exhibitions and displays.

It is best approached using Caedmon's Trod, 199 steps which tourists can be heard counting, but actually there is a short cut which reduces the number if you know where to look! The alternative is a long drive around because of Whitby's unique geography!

You may find yourself pursued by the three vampire ducks resident in the abbey grounds. If so, watch out after dark. They look just like this innocent little fellow:

I
n the 18th century Whitby became a centre for shipbuilding and whaling, as well as trade in alum and of course Whitby jet.

On the West Cliff there is a statue of Captain James Cook who set sail from Whitby on the voyage that led to the discovery of Australia. A half size replica of his ship regularly takes passengers for a romantic sailing voyage complete with folk music!

There is also a whalebone arch, the second to stand on this spot, which commemorates the history of Whitby's once large whaling industry.The larger original is now preserved in Whitby Archives Heritage Centre. By the inner harbour, next to the tourist information office, there is a statue of William Scoresby the inventor of the crow's nest.