With its quaint cobbled streets and picturesque houses standing on the steep slopes of the River Esk, Whitby is dominated by its cliff-top Abbey. Situated along one of Britain's finest stretches of coastline, with cliffs, fine sandy bays and attractive villages, Whitby has been a port for more than 1,000 years and is still a seafarer's town today.

The narrow streets and alleys climbing down to the quayside still bustle, as they have done for centuries, and as folklore and tradition are very much part of the Whitby scene, visitors soon find themselves involved.
From these centuries-old streets, 199 steps lead up to the parish Church of St Mary, whose churchyard inspired Bram Stoker to write his world-famous novel 'Dracula'. As well as attracting famous visitors, Whitby has produced its own famous son - Captain James Cook, whose house you can visit, now the Captain Cook Memorial Museum in Whitby’s old fishing quarter.

Whitby’s superb fish restaurants and traditional smoking houses that produce delicious smoked kippers are a treat for any food lover. If you enjoy music and performing arts then the Whitby Folk Festival and Regatta, held in August, are a must and in October a week-long Captain Cook Festival celebrates the town's proud seafaring traditions.