Whitby

Our friends live in Sleights just outside Whitby. Each time we visit them we take a tour of this very interesting town.

Whitby's most famous son, Captain James Cook who amongst many other voyages sailed up the east coast of Australia.

Here he is gazing out to see on the north side of the harbour. The first time we went to Whitby, it was a miserable, wet, cold and windy day. In other words, normal for Whitby. My comment was that it was days like this that made Cook go to Australia.

The entrance to the harbour. Whitby was at one time an extremely important port on the north east coast of England. The downgrading of the train service to the town in the 50's caused a drop off in the volume of shipping. Very few fishing vessels remain.

The town itself with the ruined Whitby Abbey on top of the opposite hill.

The foreshore just north of Whitby. If you click on the picture you can see little bathing huts down near the beach.

More bathing huts. It amazes me that these relics are still used.

The half finished Crescent, built by George Hudson. He was ruined by the exposure of his fraudulent dealings and his Crescent was not finished. He was the 'railway king' of the time.

Whitby's main industry is now tourism. Here is an old steam bus that puffs around the town.

The inner harbour with a swing bridge.

When you see a composition like this, you have to take the photo. Why they had to bend over to take their photos was beyond me.

The south cliff which is gradually eroding. Photos from 100 years ago show the cliff was probably extended out a further 100 yards. Actually, this cliff is referred to in Whitby as the east cliff since the harbour faces north.

I think we have been to Whitby about five times and this was the first time that the weather was good enough for us to venture out onto the north (west) pier. It was a lovely sunny day, but you still needed your jacket.

The outer extension to the pier which is designed to make the water in the main harbour more calm. As waves come into the outer section, some of the energy is disipated by having some of the wave escape through this gap. There is a simialr gap on the other pier. It all works very well and would need to since the waves can get very high in a storm.

The decking on the outer part of the pier. The boards are laid lengthways and this makes the decking difficult to walk on. It reminds me of walking on railway lines.

The outer pier on the south (east) side. Note that the bridge connecting this outer part ot the inner part is missing. It was washed away in a storm.

One of only two vessels that we saw using the harbour entrance. This is the old rescue boat that is now used for pleasure jaunts out to see. Note that the boat's skipper is not wearing a shirt! He must have layers of blubber on him.

A small version of the Endeavour that is used for pleasure trips for tourists. It motors out to sea and is back in about 25 minutes.

Whitby reminds me of the boardwalk towns of Maryland and New Jersey. Not much in the way of rides, but plenty of junky shops and fast food.

The south (east) bank. The south side has more of the tourist shops while the north side has more of the shops and banks you would normally see in a town of this size.

The inner harbour is quite calm. Compare to the waves outside in earlier photos.

Old hall built above a market.

Photo in a shop window of what it looked like 100 years ago. Now it serves as an outdoor cafe.

The houses go right up to the harbour's edge. Many of the houses in this area are used as holiday cottages.

An old Methodist Church used as a shop. The organ and even the pulpit still survive.

Tiling at the entrance to the former church.

Why one would want so much soap is beyond me, but obviously there is a market for stuff like this.

The south side is loaded with old pubs.

This one is right next door to the prior one. In summer the streets are very crowded.

One of the culinary delights of Whitby. Fortune's Kippers.

Kippers in the smoke house. The smell of the smoke (from oak) is quite noticeable over thirty yards away and I would hate to live in the area.

My kipper at dinner. These Whitby kippers are better than the ones from Craster mentioned in another blog. They really are quite delicious but I find I need to wear reading glasses so that I can deal with the bones.

A curious house that subsided on one side. It is now used as a holiday cottage.

The southern (eastern) pier.

You may notice that there are waves at right angles to the waves coming in from the sea. These extra waves have bounced off the southern (eastern) pier. It makes for very turbulent water.

The northern (western) side of the harbour. This is the wealthy side of town.

The 199 steps leading up to the old Whitby Abbey. The road to the right was the old road to Scarborough. I have climbed the steps on a prior visit to Whitby and decided I could give them a miss this time.

English seagulls are absolutely enormous.

Whitby is well worth a visit if you are in the area. From what our friends tell us, it is a real zoo in summer, but then that applies to all seaside towns.