Whitby is perhaps one of the most picturesque ports along the East coast of England. The East cliff is dominated by the magnificent cliff top ruins of the Abbey, with its famous 199 steps that lead up to the parish Church of St Mary, one of the finest Anglo Saxon churches in the country. Its churchyard is famous for providing the setting from which Brahm Stoker wrote his classic novel - Dracula. The steps lead down to narrow alleys and quaint cobble streets. The busy quayside, is littered with small terraced harbourside houses and small crafts, curios, and antiques shops filled with treasures. These and many other historical attractions make Whitby a very interesting, relaxing, fun and educational place to visit, at any time of the year. Robin Hoods Bay is well known for its stories of smugglers who made good use of the many passage ways and inlets around the bay. Cars are prevented from driving down to the bottom of bay which is very steep, although there are ample parking spaces at the top. Robin Hoods Bay has many quaint book and antique shops as well as a number of pleasant eating options. Travelling North from Whitby, Runswick Bay is a picturesque location and like Robin Hoods Bay it has a rather steep hill leading down to the shoreline with a quaint village set in the the hillside. Inland the North Yorkshire Moors provide wild, unspoilt scenery. The moorland village of Goathland is the setting for ITV's 'Heartbeat' and its station the setting for Harry Potter's 'Hogsmeade Station'. The North Yorkshire Moors Railway runs from Pickering to Grosmont and has theme weekends throughout the season - Wartime, Wizard, Thomas the Tank Engine and many more. Park rangers provide interesting walks relating to the wild life, history and geology of the moors and coast. In the villages are workshops making fine furniture, stained glass objects, pottery, candles and toys to name a few. There are the market towns of Pickering, Scarborough, Malton and Kirkbymoorside to browse around. Agricultural and village shows are held throughout the summer. Country Houses and stately homes pepper the countryside. There is Castle Howard (setting of television's Brideshead Revisited), Nunnington Hall, Sledmere and Burton Agnes. Eden Camp is a very interactive modern history theme museum. This exciting attraction is housed over 6 acres of interactive living history. There is so much to see and do it is worth allowing 3 to 4 fours hours to experience it all. Flamingo Land is a short drive from Whitby and is an attraction for all ages. As well as a large zoo the theme park's funfair features rides guaranteed to provide an adrenalin rush for all ages. There are numerous outdoor tree top activities to be done at the nearby Dalby Forest which attracts walkers, cyclists or maybe just take a drive through the Forest (there is a road toll) to take in it's renowned splendor. You will also find another attraction in the Forest - Go Ape where you can climb the trees and slide accross high wires, crawl through tunnels, cross rope bridges, walk the planks and zip down to the ground!
In and around the Yorkshire coast we have found that the official Tourism Bureau has a useful website with a wealth of information relating to Whitby, Scarborough and Filey. The district of Ryedale encompasses a wide range of visitor attractions with too many list individually, more information can be found at their website. If you are interested in historic churches and in and around Whitby and the Esk Valley there are plenty to choose from. Useful links:
Official Tourism Bureau
Eden Camp
North Yorkshire Moors Railway
Goathland visitor site
Flamingo Land
Dalby Forest
Go Ape
Robin Hoods Bay Hotels iknow-yorkshire.co.uk
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