susan earlam ~ horror author

Whitby is one of my all time favorite places to visit.

The North East coast, the British seaside attractions, the landscape and the history, all combine to make a certain kind of flavour that some people (me included) cant get enough of.

We went recently and I thought I’d share with you my top things to do in Whitby.

Go and spend time near the sea.

Might sound obvious this but looking out at the see can really put things in perspective. We are so small in comparison and this mass of water does what it will according to Mother Nature.

In Whitby the weather isn’t always perfect for spending a lot of time on the beach but whatever the weather go and get as close as you can- you’ll feel brilliant afterwards- promise!

Pannet Park

This place is a real gem in Whitby, a beautifully landscaped park right in the centre of the West side of Whitby. We got into a lovely little routine whilst there where we’d pick up coffee and snacks from The Whitby Deli and then stroll up to the park where the girls played on THE best kids playground I’ve ever seen.

This brings me neatly onto

Whitby Museum

This is a brilliant mixture of Natural History, which includes the rich pickings of fossils from the North Yorkshire coast, and local history- including collections of Whitby Jet (beautiful), with loads of nautical and maritime history as you might expect too.

The museum is set in a purpose built space within Pannet Park, a stunning piece of architecture it was opened in 1931 and its such a joy to look around here.

Whitby Abbey

To be honest I was in two minds about going to the Abbey this time. Me and the Mr had been sans children a few years ago and I wasnt sure what the girls would make of it.

There was no need to have worried- they loved it. Running around in that wide open space and exploring the ruins was brilliant. We also said it used to be Dracula’s holiday home, which as you can imagine went down a storm with eldest. We didn’t walk up the 199 steps and through the church yard though- little legs are much to little so we parked arund the back.

They also have a tea rooms behind the visitor centre ran by the Youth Hostel Association- this was really reasonable and had loads of things on offer.

Admire other people’s houses

Haha- yes! This is one of my favorite holiday activities- and its free.

There are so many lovely buildings in Whitby, I love wandering the streets and admiring them, picking up inspiration for my own home along the way. Tell me I’m not the only one who loves doing this on holiday?

Shopping

I’m talking vintage shopping of course, the best spot for a huge choice of vintage is without doubt The Stonehouse Emporium. Located on Skinner Street where there are some other great little shops worthy of an afternoon browse, Stonehouse is well worth nipping into for a look around.

I bought some lovely 1950s earrings in here and had a really lovely chat with Numi the owner, who moved to Whitby from London, bringing her family and her vintage stock with her. I’m sure we could’ve chatted all day actually and it turned out we already followed each other on Twitter- she also has self catering apartments above the shop which I’m going to look into for our next visit. This could be financially dangerous though with the shop below!

Magpie Fish & Chips

You’ve probably heard this before if you’ve been anywhere near Whitby- but these really are the best. I’ve not eaten in the restaurant yet (on my list) but the takeaway is SO good. This place lives up to the hype.

Other places we’ve still not tried yet are Humble Pie & Mash (a pie and mash restaurant natch) and Moutreys- an Italian restaurant with an excellent reputation- next time we hope to do both.