Whitby

The hauntingly beautiful and fascinating town of Whitby, is situated on the North Eastern coast of England in North Yorkshire. It is a traditional fishing port and award winning tourist destination that never seems to know which century it is. Many great people and works are associate with the town, which features a statue of Captain James Cook, who served his apprenticeship there. The undulating cobbled streets of this ancient fishing settlement are dominated by the cliff-top ruins of Whitby Abbey and of Saint Mary's Church. For once, visitors will be glad to catch some dreary British weather so that they might gain the full impact of these dramatic gothic ruins which inspired Bram Stoker in his writing of the classic horror novel, "Dracula", as well as countless other artists, writers and poets since. Whitby Abbey was founded by The Christian king of Northumbria, under its first abbess Hilda, which is a story rich in history and legend in itself. 

Whitby is also of great geological significance as it is rich in the fossilised remains of early sea creatures and is famous for being rich in the semi-precious stone, jet. Jet is a black, polished stone, formed from fossils of the Jurassic "araucaria" trea, or monkey puzzle tree as it is more commonly known. In the 18th century Whitby became a centre for shipbuilding and whaling, as well as trade in alum and jet.

The are many fascinating places to visit in North Yorkshire of which Whitby is just one example.