Discover 9 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Whitby (United Kingdom). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Church of Saint Mary, Captain Cook Memorial Museum, and Whitby Abbey. Also, be sure to include Falling Foss in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Whitby (England).
Table of Contents
Church of Saint Mary
Parish church in Whitby, England. The Church of Saint Mary is an Anglican parish church serving the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire England. It was founded around 1110, although its interior dates chiefly from the late 18th century. The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 23 February 1954. It is situated on the town's east cliff, overlooking the mouth of the River Esk overlooking the town, close to the ruins of Whitby Abbey. Church Steps, a flight of 199 steps leads up the hill to the church from the streets below. The church graveyard is used as a setting in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula.[1]
Address: Abbey Plain, YO22 4JR Whitby
Captain Cook Memorial Museum
Museum in Whitby, England. Captain Cook Memorial Museum is a history museum in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England. The museum building, Walker's House, belonged to Captain John Walker, to whom James Cook was apprenticed in 1746. Having lodged there as an apprentice, Cook returned to visit in the winter of 1771–72 after his first voyage.[2]
Address: Grape Ln, YO22 4BA Whitby, Yorkshire
Whitby Abbey
Ruined abbey and Dracula inspiration. Whitby Abbey was a 7th-century Christian monastery that later became a Benedictine abbey. The abbey church was situated overlooking the North Sea on the East Cliff above Whitby in North Yorkshire, England, a centre of the medieval Northumbrian kingdom. The abbey and its possessions were confiscated by the crown under Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries between 1536 and 1545.
Since that time, the ruins of the abbey have continued to be used by sailors as a landmark at the headland. Since the 20th century, the substantial ruins of the church have been declared a Grade I Listed building and are in the care of English Heritage; the site museum is housed in Cholmley House.[3]
Address: East Cliff, Whitby
Falling Foss
Falling Foss is a waterfall that lies in the north-east section of The North York Moors National Park and is a popular spot for walking. It is 5 miles from Whitby, and is situated on the Little Beck. It is 67 feet high.[4]
Address: Midge Hall, Whitby YO22 5JD, Whitby
Saltwick Bay
Bay in the United Kingdom. Saltwick Bay is a north-east facing bay approximately one mile to the east of Whitby, on the east coast of North Yorkshire, England. The bay contains the Saltwick Nab alum quarries, listed under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The bay is part of the Saltwick Formation and known for its collections of fossils. The SS Rohilla hospital ship sank in the bay in 1914, and the fishing trawler Admiral Van Tromp was shipwrecked there in 1976. The bay is accessible through Whitby Holiday Park.[5]
Whitby Swing Bridge
Swing bridge. Whitby Swing Bridge is a pedestrian and road bridge over the River Esk in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England.[6]
Address: Bridge St, YO2 1 3 Whitby
Whitby Museum
Museum in Whitby, England. Whitby Museum is an independent museum in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, run by Whitby Literary and Philosophical Society, a learned society and registered charity, established in 1823. It is located in a building opened in 1931 in Pannett Park, Whitby, which also contains the Society's Library and Archive.
The museum contains a wide range of material relating to the history of Whitby, and has specialist collections relating to:
- Jurassic fossils, in particular ammonites and marine reptiles
- Whitby jet
- Captain James Cook and HM Bark Endeavour
- Whitby's whaling industry.
The museum also contains a Hand of Glory, the dried and pickled hand of a hanged man, said to have magical powers.[7]
Address: Pannet Park, YO21 1RE Whitby
Cholmley House
Banquet hall in Whitby, England. Cholmley House or Whitby Hall is a banqueting house sited next to the ruins of Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire, England. It was built in 1672 by Sir Hugh Cholmeley, whose family had acquired the Abbey ruins and the land around them after its dissolution in 1539 - from then until 1672, the family had lived in what had been the Abbey's gatehouse and guest lodgings. It was originally built with a square forecourt in front of it, now known as the Stone Garden - this contains a replica of the Borghese Gladiator, another replica of which was owned by the builder of the house.
In 1743 the family succeeded to the Wentworth estates and moved its main base to Howsham Hall, leaving Cholmley House deserted. The north front lost its roof in a storm in 1790, leading to the demolition of the north front. Only the main hall remained and even this fell into decay before coming into the possession of the Strickland family, who fitted bracing arches in 1866 to secure its walls. These arches were replaced after the Ministry of Works took over the house and abbey ruins in 1936, before it was transferred to the Ministry's successor English Heritage in 1984. The house was reopened on 30 March 2002 by David Hope, then Archbishop of York, as the museum, shop and visitor reception for the Abbey site.[8]
Pannett Park
Relax in park, Park
Address: Pannet Park, YO21 1RE Whitby