Wonderful Whitby.

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Geo: 54.2102, -0.291928

Saturday was another clear sunny day, about 17 degrees with little wind. We set out from Filey after breakfast, about 9 am. Our destination was Whitby, the home of Captain Cook and birthplace of Bram Stoker amongst others. On the way we stopped at the romantic sounding Robin Hood's Bay which I had read about in our book about amazing places to see in Britain.

This is a small seaside town perched on a cliffside overlooking a wide bay which has great tidal variations. When we got there the tide was right out and this exposes vast rocky reefs, ideal for children and adults to fossick on for shells and crabs etc. We parked on the peak of the hill and walked down through the upper village past rows of B&Bs and hotels. At peak summer season this place would be packed as there were still plenty of visitors around on this autumn Saturday. The view from the clifftop is breathtaking . We sat for a few minutes contemplating both it and the climb down and, more importantly, up which we were about to attempt. We took it slowly, stopping to take photos and sit and ponder along the way.

At the bottom of the cliff is the lower village. People can walk from there out onto the reefs and there were several family groups enjoying the sunshine. Looking back up we could see the huge retaining wall which protects the village from the sea. We then meandered back up the hill, stopping to look at the little shops and interesting architecture. The connection to Robin Hood is tenuous. Some say that he kept a boat here to escape his enemies but it is a long way from Nottingham! The town was a centre for smugglers in the past and there are rumours of long tunnels under the houses.

Back at the top of the hill we returned to the car and set off along the coast to Whitby. This is a large town on the mouth of the River Esk which has been in existence for centuries. Again it was a bustling, busy place with hundreds of families and groups enjoying the pleasant weather. We parked the car in one of the large car parks near the railway station and strolled along the river admiring the views of boats of all shapes and sizes and the picturesque houses lining the hillsides along the river. We looked around the shops and bought Fletcher another pair of reading glasses and stopped for a coffee and cake at our now favourite Costa Coffee shop. I was able to post my blog using their free WiFi as well.

We then set out to walk along the riverside to the seafront. There were many boat rides on sale from a trip on a lifeboat, to 3 hour fishing trips, to a Captain Cook experience on a small replica Endeavour. Fish and chip shops were everywhere with signs declaring various ones being the Fish and Chip shop of the year in 2009, 2011 etc. We set out to do the compulsory jetty walk, along the sea walls out past the small lighthouse built in the 18th century to the very end where there were many people fishing. We could see Captain Cook's statue on the hill overlooking the beach while the opposite hillside was dominated by the ruins of Whitby Abbey stark against the skyline.

We strolled back to find somewhere for lunch. There were queues outside a couple of the popular places but we chose Harry's Lounge Bar and bistro which looked a little more modern and had seating outside. I decided to conform and have fish and chips while Fletcher chose a Chicken BLT as the Whitby lobster was not available. Both were very good with my cod covered in a crisp batter rather than the usual stodge. We then returned to the swing bridge spanning the river and crossed to the other side where there were narrow streets with a variety of stores, many selling jewellery made from the local Whitby Jet. We stopped at the Captain Cook Museum and looked in but it didn't look terribly exciting so declined to pay the entrance fee.

About 3pm we returned to the car and drove back to Filey. There we walked around the corner to The Star Inn which is a much nicer pub than the one we are staying at. There the barmaid put the TV on to the Rugby for us though we seemed to be the only ones interested in Australia v Wales. It was a pleasant place to watch though and we were very happy with the 15-6 result. We chatted to a couple of fellow pub users and found most were from Leeds or other cities, down for the weekend.

We finished the night at the local Indian restaurant, Monsoon, where we had a couple of good curries with rice and naan. We celebrated Australia topping Pool A and not having to face NZ until the final. We returned to our room about 9-30 and relaxed after a busy but interesting day.

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