Yorkshire Day 7: Whitby & Robin Hood's Bay

I had an awful night’s sleep. I couldn’t get to sleep for the longest time because I had horrible indigestion, probably due to the food and alcohol I’ve had on this holiday. My body isn’t used to all the lovely rich stuff so it had a tantrum and I felt terrible for hours. I did eventually sleep, but I felt like total crap when I got up this morning. The only thing that kept me going was knowing I was headed back to Whitby.

I managed to scrub up ok, dressing like a goth sailor complete with my new Whitby Jet necklace. We headed off reasonably early, and I was again enamoured by the dark and gloomy moors we had to drive through. One day I will explore the moors properly!

Today it was really cold and grey, suitably moody for my return to Whitby. I almost immediately regretted wearing a dress as the wind was determined to create a Monroe moment for me.

A good brisk walk uphill warmed our bones a bit, but it was even colder up on the west cliff. I was looking for a specific bench, and spotted a row of them up some stairs, looking off the cliff and into the bay. All of the benches were green and had plaques commemorating people, but the specific one I wanted stood out because it was built in a significantly more old-fashioned style. This was on purpose, to keep the bench looking as it probably would have in the 19^th century (even though this one was erected in 1980).

I walked over and the plaque confirmed that I’d found the Bram Stoker bench. Placed at the spot where Stoker was inspired to use Whitby as a setting in Dracula, sitting on the bench offers a dramatic view of the bay and the abbey ruins sitting on the cliffs almost exactly opposite. I sat there for a long while, feeling inspired and timeless, and appreciated the view. Today was much more overcast and gloomy, and it made the whole view so much more atmospheric. I wondered if Stoker had seen it on a day like this. It was a really special experience.

We meandered further around the cliff edge and came to the whalebone arch – a replica of a whale’s jawbone that replaced two real jaw bones that once stood on the spot. It was a symbol of seamen surviving whaling trips and bringing back the bacon (blubber?) in the 19^th century.

There is also a statue of Captain Cook, who was a seamanship apprentice in Whitby before going onto his more famous ‘Endeavours’ (pun totally intended). There were a couple of signs with information about both the whalers of Whitby and Captain Cook, which gave me the facts I’ve relayed here.

The view from this side of the bay is absolutely stunning. I spent a long while just looking out over the water to the Abbey ruins on the other side, and down into the harbour and little town. It’s so quaint, like going back in time – I felt similar to when I first went to the Old Town in Edinburgh.

We stopped at a cute little coffee hut called Clara’s for a hot drink. They had coffee and I went mad and had a hot chocolate. The table we sat outside was tucked in a little corner where the wind couldn’t get us, and the drinks were so warm and delicious. It was so peaceful just sitting there, sipping our drinks slowly and looking out at the grey sea. It was one of those moments in life where you just sit mindfully and take in the things around you, with your mind a pleasant blank apart from how content you feel. We all mentioned feeling this way too, so it was nice that we were all really happy.

There was what looked like the ruins of a house nearby, which we decided to investigate when we were finished with our drinks. It turned out to be a memorial garden for the bombardment of Whitby in 1914, which caused tonnes of damage and took the lives of two people. The garden was created by Whitby In Bloom and the local community, and was unveiled on the centennial anniversary of the attack. It’s a sobering but beautiful memorial piece, complete with a real unexploded shell planted right in the sitting room floor.

Our next stop was Pannett Park, about a ten minute walk away. To get there, we passed through a more residential part of the town. It’s so pretty in that area, especially the houses on the Royal Crescent.

I was gutted when a Trillo’s ice cream van drove by. I had been hoping to find them near the whalebone arch because I wanted to see if they had their pitch-black ice cream available (I’m unsure if that’s just something they do for Goth Weekend, but I really want to try some!), or just try any of their flavours because the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Whenever I return to Whitby, I won’t rest until I get my goth ice cream!

The reason we were going to the park was to visit the Whitby Museum. I had been worried because it was closed for some time due to Covid restrictions, but luckily they re-opened not long before we made this trip. It was serendipitous because I really wanted to visit. It’s only a fiver to get in, and that’s for an annual pass! The reasonable price was impressive, especially when we went inside and realised that it’s an incredible museum.

Before the main reception, there’s an art gallery which was running an exhibition of pieces by the Flylingdales Group of Artists. The work was all beautiful, but my favourite was a painting of several old ships on a bruised, uneasy sea. It’s called Off Yarmouth by an artist named George Chambers I – having looked him up, a lot of his work is based on boating and the sea, and he has lots of really stunning pieces. Obviously in the gallery, you couldn’t take photos of the art but I had to note this one down to share.

I had thought that the museum was going to be pretty small like most local ones are, but it was surprisingly large and had so much stuff in it. There were ancient fossils that were millions of years old, which was amazing to see. Obviously you’re not allowed to touch them, but the trusting nature of the museum is great because the fossils weren’t kept under glass. This was really cool - you could get nice and close and really study the bones.

My ultimate favourite artefact (and the reason I wanted to visit the museum initially) was an alleged ‘Hand of Glory’. These curiosities are said to be made using the severed hand of a hanged criminal. When a candle is placed in the hand and lit, it will send everyone but the holder into a deep sleep, allowing thieves to come and go without detection. The only way to put out the flame is by dousing it with blood or skimmed milk. That’s the story, anyway.

The dried-up hand in Whitby museum is apparently an example of a ‘Hand of Glory’ that was found hidden over a doorway in a cottage by its new owner. Imagine moving into your lovely new house and finding a withered old human hand! Anyway, the specimen was amazing – you could see all of the bones and tendons through the shrunken, leathery skin. As a fan of all things macabre and gross, it was so interesting to look at and read about. I’ve seen preserved human hands before (relax, I saw them in a museum), but never one with a curious myth attached to it.

There was an extensive collection of Victorian items including jewellery, dollhouses, medical tools (and a random pair of dentures) and art. The jet collection was also large and included a massive, elaborate chessboard carved entirely from it.

Other things in the museum: a massive taxidermy collection, impressive and large ship models, so many cool weapons and military medals, an exhibition on hats and the Staithes bonnet, and a small collection of stuff from Africa, Turkey, China, and Japan.

Towards the end of the museum (if you go around clockwise), there’s a whole section on the history of Whitby which was interesting and a nice touch. Part of this section was a big clay model of the abbey which was handmade by a single artist – absolutely stunning.

I was happy and surprised at how much stuff they have packed in the Whitby Museum. We spent ages wandering around, but I could easily go back again and probably discover lots more things that I overlooked. I really, really enjoyed it, and definitely recommend that you go if you’re in the area.

On the way out, Martin told mum and I to look for the crocodile. Intrigued, we headed to the doorway. He wasn’t hard to spot. A small, taxidermy crocodile standing on its hind legs, with its front feet out in front, holding some cards advertising his Instagram account(!) A museum worker told us that that was Clarence, the museum’s mascot. Mum and I were instantly enamoured with him.

The taxidermy piece is over 100 years old, and stands proudly at the door to greet you. He was wearing a yellow bowtie with a white jumper tied around his shoulders, and looked very dashing. We were told that he gets dressed up in different clothing throughout the year, and that he’d soon be dressed as Dracula for Halloween. I absolutely loved this idea, and wanted to pet Clarence, but you can’t touch him due to his old age.

When we emerged from the museum, we all agreed that we were really hungry and it was time for lunch. We walked back towards the bay to find food. I was amazed when I saw a bakery just for dogs, and I wish I’d gotten some bat-shaped dog biscuits for my pup family back home. Martin soon found an enormous pork pie that suited him fine for lunch, which just left mum and I to make a decision, something we find monumentally difficult.

I had heard great things about Magpie Café, a fish-and-chips place right on the sea wall, so we sought that out. We did find it, but decided not to go in because it was really busy. It was also a bit overpriced, which was a shame. Again when I return to Whitby, I might eat the cost just to see if the food is as good as people say it is.

Mum was adamant that she wanted a baguette for lunch, but we couldn’t find one anywhere. The only place that would have had them was a Cooplands branch, but they’d run out of baguettes already. It was amazing that we couldn’t find such a simple food, and also a waste of time walking around the place.

In the end, we stopped at a café on the harbour side, right near where we were parked. It’s called Endeavour Café, and is a small, simple place. Mum settled for a panini and I had a bowl of cheesy chips, followed by a lovely chocolate brownie. The woman working there was really friendly and the atmosphere was quiet, relaxed and local. It also wasn’t absolutely rammed, so we didn’t need to worry about trying to keep our distance.

Once we were finished with lunch, we decided to leave Whitby as it was getting annoying to move around the place. This is the only issue I had with lovely Whitby. It’s beautiful and perfect, but it gets so busy and the paths and streets are very narrow so things get super crowded very quickly. We decided to stop at Robin Hood’s Bay on the way back from Scarborough. It’s such a cute little place, with a quaint seaside aesthetic. You have to walk down a gigantic hill to get to the bay itself which is treacherous and horrible, but the view from the top is absolutely lovely.

When we got to the bottom of the hill, we picked our way down the slippery cobbled slope onto the sandy bay itself. The tide was out so we weren’t too worried about being stranded on there, though there are plenty of ominous signs telling you to get back up the slope before the sea comes and cuts you off from land. There were a lot of people walking on the beach, but there was enough space to keep our distance as we strolled up the shoreline a bit. There was an ice cream van sitting there on the sand, a pop of pastel colour in the grey day, and I also saw a Husky running around. It was all very nice and whimsical. We didn’t walk for too long or far, as we were very aware of the huge hill we had to climb to get back to the car.

Before starting up the hill though, we stopped at a darling little sweetshop named Dollie’s. As well as sweets, they also sell locally-made ice cream in a variety of flavours. Martin got his favourite rum and raisin, mum got cookies & cream, and I went mad and got two flavours, cookies & cream and cinder toffee, in an enormous waffle cone. The kid making them was really generous with the scoops so we ended up with loads of ice cream. It was also a reasonable price, which is always welcome.

The ice cream distracted me for most of the walk back up the hill. We perched on a wall about halfway up to finish them off. I very nearly didn’t manage mine but my mother didn’t raise a quitter and I powered through. It was too good to waste (or give away)!

As we were slogging up the last part of the hill, which inclines again really suddenly, a guy puttered past on his motorbike. It kept cutting off because it couldn’t cope with the gradient, but he kept doggedly restarting it instead of hopping off and walking it the rest of the way. Everyone was watching his slow progress, and it took all of my restraint not to cheer him when he finally made it to the top.

Robin Hood’s Bay is really quaint and pretty. It has a really old-fashioned feel, still resembling a very local fishing town. I would love to return and explore it more thoroughly one day, but getting a little taste of it today was still charming.

I’m back at the flat now and feeling sorry that the trip is more or less over already! This is the Airbnb we stayed in during our trip. It’s a ground floor flat in a converted Victorian townhouse, so it was surprisingly huge with lovely high ceilings. It was clean and tidy, reasonably priced, and contained everything we could ever need while we were away. The wifi is excellent, the furnishings are comfy and there are three toilets.

The location was spot on – all of Scarborough was within walking distance (if you’re able to walk a few miles to the North Bay), and there are lots of nice little places within half an hour to an hour’s drive. Another bonus was that it was so quiet at night. This was surprising to me because the house sits on a pretty main thoroughfare, and there are hotels and a bar nearby. Perhaps the bedrooms being in the back of the building helped to dull some noise.

I honestly couldn’t fault it, despite my constant teasing about my ‘hallway bedroom’. If you’re ever looking for a stop in Scarborough, I would recommend the lovely Ramshill Rest. As always, this isn’t a sponsored post or an ad, I just like to sing the praises of places when they’re good.

We’re heading back home tomorrow morning. Scarborough isn’t somewhere I really had much notice for but it’s a real hidden gem, and Yorkshire in general is so ridiculously pretty. I would love to come back to the county, and also this particular area, to explore more.