York To Coast

Consider Whitby. We visited that interesting seaside city when after we did York and before we did Durham.

Hi Jmo -

Of the available options I’d plump for Whitby. I’d check there’s nothing major happening on the day you plan to visit - they hold various festivals, Goth, Folk Music, Steampunk, etc. When we were there at the end of November there was a Krampus Festival going on. Of course this might be just the kind of thing you’re looking for.

From Whitby you can catch the bus - bus station adjacent to railway station - down to Robin Hoods Bay, a delightful former fishing and smuggling village. Two caveats - check the bus timetables carefully as in October the service may be less frequent than the summer one in all likelihood, and the town can only be reached on foot by a steep road which winds down to the sea. This of course means a steep climb back up. The buses don’t go to the bottom as you’ll realise the road is too steep, narrow and twisting to accommodate a large vehicle.

Going north from Whitby is Staithes which is another cliff side fishing village, but I’m unsure if the buses run frequently to and from there, especially late in the year, would stand checking. Of the two I think Robin Hoods Bay is the better.

Having said that there’s a ton of stuff to do in Whitby - there’s the Abbey ruins on the cliff top and, if open the church of St Mary’s is next to the abbey and also worth a quick look-see if it is open. There’s also a brewery tap conveniently situated opposite the abbey if you’ve climbed the 199 steps to the abbey! If the tide is out there’s an opportunity to stroll along the sands to the aptly named Sandsend - it’s further away than it looks but you can come back on the promenade if you need to turn back early. Nice beach side cafe at Sandsend though.

There are lots of nice pubs in Whitby. I particularly enjoyed the tiny narrow bar in the White Horse and Griffin and the pub a couple of doors up - I want to say The Albert but may well be wrong - fellow Yorkshiremen/travellers may well confirm or correct me! - (EDIT - I was wrong! In a ying to the White Horse’s yang, it’s the Black Horse!) - was good last time I called in, in a ‘proper English pub’ sort of way.

For eating look no further than the famed Magpie Cafe for fish and chips - I recommend the full upstairs sit down experience if you can get in, it’s always busy - although there are any number of fish and chip outlets (there’s a big one not far from the station that was recommended to me but which I’ve not tried) and up in the back streets of the East Cliff is the famed Bothams Bakery which has a large tea room/cafe upstairs.

Your other options are Scarborough and Bridlington both of which are large seaside towns which have seen better days and are not my favourites and Filey where I spent many of my childhood holidays. Filey is an old fishing village which got a little way to being a large seaside town but stopped before it got there. I always say every time I go back that I’d swear it’s got smaller! A fairly recent visit would suggest that it’s something of a curate’s egg of a place, some places trying hard, others failing. I felt a little saddened on my last visit to be honest as it was nothing like the scene of my childhood adventures, but then many places I first visited over fifty years ago have changed radically since my first visit. In summation, I’d stick with Whitby - that still appears to be on the up and up having adapted better than the other places!

Have a great trip!

Ian