For my annual birthday adventure this year, I decided to take a trip to a place I’d wanted to visit since I read the novel Dracula in High School – Whitby. Specifically Whitby Abbey.
So I packed up my tiny suitcase and made the drive from one Shire to the next, Lancashire to Yorkshire – driving over the silent and ominous Saddleworth Moors and onto the beautiful moors outside of Whitby, before hitting the postcard perfect town.
I’d done quite a bit of searching of places to stay, getting a bit boggled by all the options. (You can see why locals get upset about all the people buying up property to use as holiday lets when you see the selections available.) I decided to go for a mid range hotel for my stay, which was really close to the Abbey and the town – The Penny Hedge. It’s a Marston Inn so had the pub and restaurant on site and plenty of parking. Just a quick heads up though, on Booking.com it was only £80 per night, but in person it was £95. So it’s definitely worth checking all the deals around before booking.
The staff were absolutely lovely at the Penny Hedge, and super helpful. One even told me there was a gap in the wall from the car park to Whitby Abbey that I could sneak through to get in out of hours. Why would I want to go in out of hours, you ask? Well, it was dark by the time I got there so I wanted to drive up and see what it was like. I was expecting it to be lit up looking beautiful so that I could take some atmospheric pictures for my article, but unfortunately there wasn’t a floodlight in sight. So it was pitch black and the photographs had to wait.
After a lovely restful sleep (I have to say that because these kinds of hotels aren’t always known for being quiet) I decided to get up just before dawn and head down to the Abbey to try and get the sunrise behind it. Whitby is on the East coast so obviously that sunrise would have been epic.
Well, it was raining when I left the hotel, and this is what I got.
It rained for the whole time I was there in Whitby, and the sun didn’t make a single appearance for me while I was at the Abbey. Such a shame, but only means that I need to come back for another visit when the weather is better.
Heading back to the hotel, I had a nice fry up and headed off to do something touristy that was indoors.
The Dracula Experience is only open on weekends during the Winter, so it’s worth checking their website – http://www.draculaexperience.co.uk – to get an idea of times if you’re wanting to visit. It’s a wonderful telling of how Dracula is linked to the town and how Bram Stoker came to write the novel. An interesting little titbit about the original castle that gave inspiration for Dracula’s home – I once did the makeup and hair of the current owner (a direct descendent of the person believed to be the actual Count Dracula) on a movie I worked on and he told me wonderful stories about the castle. I believe he was a friend of one of the producers of the movie and was given a supporting artist role while he was visiting. Delightful chap. But back to the experience…
It’s worth a visit if you’re in Whitby and huge value for money, so definitely plan a trip.
Other than the Dracula Experience and Whitby Abbey, there wasn’t really much else gothic to say for the town, so my title is a bit off. But it’s still worth a visit.
I decided to go to the Captain Cook Memorial Museum on Grape Lane seeing as though the weather was miserable. It took a long time to find somewhere to park as the museum is a 17th Century house where Captain Cook apparently spent time as an apprentice, so car parks are a good way from the building itself and the road it’s on doesn’t have much space. It’s definitely not disability friendly being a 4 story town house, but it’s one of the better accessible places I’ve been to. It’s also quite small and doesn’t take long to see everything, so a guided tour might be the way to go on this one. A very educational and interesting place to visit though. You can find entry prices and opening times here www.cookmuseumwhitby.co.uk.
I must point out, while I remember, that Whitby is an old coastal town and has lots of steps and hills, so something to bear in mind if you’re wanting to visit the harbour areas. The Abbey is quite accessible and relatively flat from the car parks. Just don’t go when it’s raining…
Every seaside town in the UK has fish and chips so I decided my lunch would be a fish and chip takeout eaten on the harbour. The rain had other ideas, so it was a lunch in my car. At least that way I wouldn’t be getting attacked by giant seagulls trying to pinch my food. I got a takeout from a well known fish and chip shop on New Quay Road and wasn’t overly impressed so I won’t say any more. Check the reviews before you settle on the fish and chip shop you want to go to. The view from the car park, however, was gorgeous, despite the weather.
On the way back to the hotel I did a slight detour to Whitby Distillery to check out the locally produced gin. I don’t drink, apart from a cheeky Black Russian cocktail on my birthday or at Christmas, so gin isn’t on my menu at any time, and the tours needed to be booked, so I had a quick look at the shop. The gin is made using local ingredients and so would be the perfect gift for any gin lovers out there. They also do a vodka, flavoured gins, and spiced rum, as well as some limited edition bottles. Check out the Cherry Rum and Prince of Darkness Gin! Tours operate Thursday to Sunday at specific times throughout the day, and cost £25 per person, but you do have to book, as I’ve said before. You can check out details at their website www.whitbydistillery.com and also order all of their goodies on their online shop.
Getting back to my hotel I had a nice evening meal in the Penny Hedge and my birthday Black Russian before retiring for the night.
Next day I had a wander around some lovely little shops in Whitby selling all sorts of treasures from antiques to clothes to jewellery. I spent a whole day browsing to my hearts content. And getting wet.
Although I will definitely go back to Whitby when the weather is nicer and I can wander more leisurely, I had completely the wrong idea of the place when I was going in. I was thinking Gothic and lots of spooky things to do, when in reality, the only gothic thing there is the Abbey and the Dracula Experience. And lots of shops selling Dracula themed items. This doesn’t make it bad to visit, just not exactly what I was expecting. It’s also a town for people who are fit and healthy because there’s very little parking around and lots of gradients and cobbles. So be aware of all these factors before you go so that you can plan accordingly.
It was still a lovely town to visit. But maybe on your way to somewhere else…
Sceptic Online 
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