-==Introduction==-


Ah.. Whitby, without question my favourite place in the world, my second home situated on isolated north yorkshire coast, completely unaffected by time and miles away from any cities or large towns, the closest being Scarborough, some 20 or so miles south. Whitby is remarkably well preserved and still retains its victorian charm, Whitby is as if frozen in time, it is unchanged, like the land that time forgot, cobbled winding streets that have existed since the days of the romans, ancient fishing boats, the notorious swing bridge which splits the old side of town from the new and remains relatively unchanged since it's inception, and a traditional smokehouse for kippers and bacon, and how could one forget St.Hilda's final resting place, Whitby Abbey?. There is something incredibly romantic, yet frightening about a victorian era fishing town set amongst the backdrop of the ever watchful ascent where Whitby Abbey watches over all it's townsfolk almost as if guarding them from danger! accompanied by the north sea who's waves crash crash and crash against the cliffs, the sound of the waves, the hawk hawk hawk of the seagulls, the finest seafood money can buy, and quaint little century old cottages and pubs offering real ales, food and fantastic accomodation..so am I finished yet? I haven't even started!

-==My first experience of Whitby==-

I first visited Whitby when I was a wee lad of 16, and definately not at the age where I could really appreciate Whitby for just how amazing it is, yet it still manages to evoke fond memories from those years ago. I remember the b&b I stopped in (Argyle House and it's fantastic landlord Ben), the great tasting fish and chips and how we ate in the Trenchers restaraunt, definately a step up from anything else I have had, with quite possibly the cleanest toilets iv'e seen! so kudos to them!


-==Whitby, second time around.==-

I went to whitby again when I was 21, 5 years later and with a new sense of maturity I definately enjoyed it much more then, it was truely perfect, we went in May and the weather was phenomenal, I, and my dog both got buried in the sand!. We stayed in a cottage, self-catering for a week courtesy of Ingrid Flute who offer fantastic cottages are very good prices too, which works out suprisingly cheap actually much cheaper than if you were to stay in a hotel or b&b, you do have to provide your own breakfast, but how much does a bag of muesli cost?, We went to a few different chippies, all of them fantastic but the stand-out one again has to be Trenchers and Mr.Chips, both have my recommendations, we also decided to dissapear up the 199 steps and to the Abbey for the afternoon, it is quite expensive for a ticket but it is more than worth it, it's a strangely serene place for somewhere that has so much history attached to it, you can almost feel it when you stand at the top looking out to the cliffs and the rough waves of the north sea crashing and eroding away.

-==From beginning to end==-

Frankly, Whitby is a place that for me has a touch of everything yet also excels at most things, if your looking for a town like Blackpool, Brighton, or Scarborough you will be dissapointed, but if your looking for a quaint little seaside town that is busy yet retains all of it's edwardian qualities and remains the land that time forget, from it's cobbled winding streets, to it's tudor cottages and gothic buildings, to the finest seafood the north-sea has to offer and the most fantastic pubs offering all the real ales of yorkshire then Whitby should be your one-stop shop.