# Whitby photos: pier, harbour, abbey, 199 steps and local scenes



## editor (Jul 11, 2010)

I've finally got around to posting up the photo from the fabulous urban trip to Whitby:






Town view






Harbour scene.











 There’s some beautiful architecture around the town.






[More photos]


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## lemontop (Jul 11, 2010)

Nice pics. Did you get a lucky duck?


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## Fuchs66 (Jul 11, 2010)

Never mind a lucky duck, did you get some Fortune's kippers?


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## oryx (Jul 11, 2010)

Great photos.

I love the one of the picture of the cat seeing itself as a lion, even if it is a bit, er, kitsch........

The ones of the beach and station really remind me of childhood days out with the grandparents! 

As did the ones of Robin Hood's Bay - the RNLI fish's mouth charity box nearly made me well up as I'd forgotten all about it. Three generations of my folks have enjoyed holidays and days out in Whitby/Robin Hood's Bay.


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## bi0boy (Aug 7, 2010)

Did you go up the West lighthouse?

It's so weather-worn I always think it's about snap off and fall over.


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## _angel_ (Aug 8, 2010)

We were there this week - editor missed this:











also 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	








not as good as editor's photo tho


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## brix (Aug 8, 2010)

Does anyone know what this very creepy looking building up by the abbey is?


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## brix (Aug 14, 2010)

brix said:


> Does anyone know what this very creepy looking building up by the abbey is?


 
Bump.  Someone must know, surely?


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## neonwilderness (Aug 14, 2010)

Apparently it's a 17th century banqueting hall.  It's now the English Heritage visitors centre for the abbey.

http://www.goarchitecture.co.uk/whitby_abbey


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## brix (Aug 14, 2010)

neonwilderness said:


> Apparently it's a 17th century banqueting hall.  It's now the English Heritage visitors centre for the abbey.
> 
> http://www.goarchitecture.co.uk/whitby_abbey



Aha!  Thank you.  That's helped me to find more information: http://www.visit-yorkshire.info/history/stately-homes.shtml#cholmley_house

Not sure about those mirrored windows for a visitors centre though.  It doesn't exactly look welcoming.


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## Throbbing Angel (Aug 16, 2010)

some great photos here

wifey took this 'un when we were there


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## janeb (Aug 18, 2010)

There yesterday, some photo's here, all taken using Hipstamatic


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## editor (Aug 19, 2010)

brix said:


> Does anyone know what this very creepy looking building up by the abbey is?


That was explained in my ruddy link!

http://www.urban75.org/photos/yorkshire/whitby-abbey-and-steps-yorkshire.html


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## brix (Aug 19, 2010)

editor said:


> That was explained in my ruddy link!
> 
> http://www.urban75.org/photos/yorkshire/whitby-abbey-and-steps-yorkshire.html


 
I didn't click on the link.


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## Spanky Longhorn (Aug 23, 2010)

I love Whitby, at the moment I get to go there for work once or twice a month, and I always make sure it's a Friday so I can go down the quayside for fish and chips.


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## Steel Icarus (Aug 26, 2010)

Haven't been in a while. Maybe been 10 times. I love it, and this week me & the missus talked about retiring there, as we'd like to be by the sea. Still 30-odd years off that, mind.


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## danny la rouge (Oct 10, 2011)

Looks amazing.  We're off there tomorrow for a couple of nights.  Never been before.  I'm looking forward to it.


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 10, 2011)

Dont just visit Whitby though, get away from the town and head off to Robin Hood's Bay it's a lot nicer.


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## danny la rouge (Oct 10, 2011)

Cheers.  Will do.  Was planning to walk there anyway.


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 11, 2011)

Say hello to the place I grew up while you're there 

Are you walking along the cliffs or the old railway line? Both are good but you get some fantastic views from the cliffs.


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## danny la rouge (Oct 11, 2011)

Cliffs was the idea.  But I'm told the weather will be wetter than an otter's pocket.


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 11, 2011)

danny la rouge said:


> Cliffs was the idea. But I'm told the weather will be wetter than an otter's pocket.


The railway line hasn't got a roof!  You're going to get wet either way, however if its really chucking it down and especially if the winds coming off the sea you might get a bit of shelter along the railway also there are a couple of spots you can break the walk off and get a bus (beware though they dont run that regularly). Make sure you've got some decent wetproofs and if you do go along the cliffs even if it is bad weather the sight of a choppy, steel-grey sea from up there can be pretty dramatic.


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## Kaka Tim (Oct 11, 2011)

Whitby is great.

If you walk along the cliff tops past the abbey, you will come to another -  essentially wild - beach with big rock formations going out into the sea as well as a sandy bit- well worth checking out.


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## editor (Oct 11, 2011)

Fuchs66 said:


> Say hello to the place I grew up while you're there
> 
> Are you walking along the cliffs or the old railway line? Both are good but you get some fantastic views from the cliffs.


The railway line is a lovely walk (weather permitting)
















http://www.urban75.org/photos/yorkshire/whitby-ravenscar-railway-walk.html


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 11, 2011)

editor said:


> The railway line is a lovely walk (weather permitting)
> http://www.urban75.org/photos/yorkshire/whitby-ravenscar-railway-walk.html



It is but the stretch from Bay to Ravenscar is the best bit, I used to use it as my bikepath to Whitby, much safer than the roads full of tourists driving like idiots (ok there are the occasional farmers in Landrovers driving like idiots on the line)

I still prefer the cliff path as a walk though.


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## neonwilderness (Oct 11, 2011)

Staithes is few miles up the coast from Whitby and is also quite nice too.  The walk back up the hill our of the village is a bit of a killer though


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## danny la rouge (Oct 14, 2011)

Fuchs66 said:


> Say hello to the place I grew up while you're there


I said hello for you.

Had a great time.  What an excellent place.  It was foggy most of the time, so we gave the clifftop walking a miss.  However, we did walk along the esplanade to Sandsend, and from Robin Hood's Bay to Boggle Hole.

RHB was lovely.  Although I was served very strong instant coffee masquerading as espresso by the Chocolate Shop.  Unforgivable.


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 14, 2011)

Glad you enjoyed it and thanks, hope you said hello to the Boggle while you were there.

As for the coffee, I understand totally, but the Chocolate Shop is just somewhere to relieve tourists of their monies.


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## Bungle73 (Oct 14, 2011)

I went to Whitby for the first time last month, during my few days away in York. I got the bus there, which went over the Moors, and the train back, via Middlesbrough, from which I saw some nice scenery...shame about the train being packed with school kids on their way home though.

I did the Whitby Museum, the church and Abbey ruins.  Didn't have time for fish and chips.


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 15, 2011)

neonwilderness said:


> Staithes is few miles up the coast from Whitby and is also quite nice too. The walk back up the hill our of the village is a bit of a killer though


Pfffft used to run up and down the hill as training. Yep Staithes is nice but dont tell them I said so


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## danny la rouge (Oct 15, 2011)

Bungle73 said:


> Didn't have time for fish and chips.


  There's _always_ time for chips.


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## Bungle73 (Oct 15, 2011)

danny la rouge said:


> There's _always_ time for chips.


Well after I'd visited the museum, the abbey and church plus had a walk around it was almost time to catch the train, which only runs every four hours or something silly. I could have caught the bus back, but I fancied the train trip for some different scenery than I saw on the way there. Also I overheard on the bus there someone say that the bus back is often very crowded, as it was on the way there, and didn't fancy having to stand for the ~2 hour journey.

Also I had large breakfasts in the hotel so wasn't eating anything from the morning until the evening.


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## danny la rouge (Oct 15, 2011)

Bungle73 said:


> Well after I'd visited the museum, the abbey and church plus had a walk around it was almost time to catch the train, which only runs every four hours or something silly. I could have caught the bus back, but I fancied the train trip for some different scenery than I saw on the way there. Also I overheard on the bus there someone say that the bus back is often very crowded, as it was on the way there, and didn't fancy having to stand for the ~2 hour journey.
> 
> Also I had large breakfasts in the hotel so wasn't eating anything from the morning until the evening.


Lightweight.  

The train sounds great, btw.  I saw where it ran over the moors.  Must have been beautiful.


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## Fuchs66 (Oct 15, 2011)

Used to spend lots of time up on the moors as a kid, catching adders, finding unexploded shells and falling into hidden swamps.


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## Bungle73 (Oct 15, 2011)

danny la rouge said:


> Lightweight.
> 
> The train sounds great, btw. I saw where it ran over the moors. Must have been beautiful.


Yep.  Saw some great stuff like Rosebury Topping.

There's a website all about the line here: http://www.eskvalleyrailway.co.uk/


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## sim667 (Oct 17, 2011)

Fuchs66 said:


> Dont just visit Whitby though, get away from the town and head off to Robin Hood's Bay it's a lot nicer.



I do love whitby, but ill agree robin hoods bay is beautiful/


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## Bingo (Jan 16, 2012)

Hoping to make it up here with my lass in a couple of weeks, don't spose anyone can recommend a good bnb/ little hotel?


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## editor (Jan 16, 2012)

Bingo said:


> Hoping to make it up here with my lass in a couple of weeks, don't spose anyone can recommend a good bnb/ little hotel?


We stayed at La Rosa. It's a bit groovy-hipster, but fun.
http://larosa.co.uk/hotel/index.html


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## Bingo (Jan 16, 2012)

Yeah seen it, always wanted to rent top deck out with mates, not sure if I can afford 2 nights there tho! Spotted these two 

www.the-black-horse.com

www.sandersyard.co.uk


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## Bingo (Jan 16, 2012)

Does la Rosa have a little tea room as well? Might just pop in for a brew if so


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## Cribynkle (Jan 16, 2012)

Bingo said:


> Hoping to make it up here with my lass in a couple of weeks, don't spose anyone can recommend a good bnb/ little hotel?


I stayed at The Locker in Robin Hood's bay when I was over that way last year. Not Whitby but about a 10 minute taxi ride or a cliff top walk and it's an amazing place to stay


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## editor (Jan 16, 2012)

Bingo said:


> Does la Rosa have a little tea room as well? Might just pop in for a brew if so


They do indeed.


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## StoneRoad (Jan 16, 2012)

try these people :
http://www.whitby-cottages.net/
I've been to Whitby many, many times - some of the best fish & chips, and had quite a few trips out to the bell buoy / Sandsend on the old lifeboat.

Went on Sunday, and indulged in a Yorkshire breakfast......and tazzed the dog on the beach......


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## Maggot (Jan 16, 2012)

Bingo said:


> Does la Rosa have a little tea room as well? Might just pop in for a brew if so


We went there for tea. Lewis Carroll stayed there and it has an Alice in Wonderland thing going on.


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## Bingo (Jan 16, 2012)

Got a right list of stuff to see and do, shaping up nicely!


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## Maggot (Jan 17, 2012)

I recommend a trip on the steam trains.


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## editor (Jan 17, 2012)

Maggot said:


> I recommend a trip on the steam trains.


Damn straight!


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## _angel_ (Jan 18, 2012)

editor said:


> We stayed at La Rosa. It's a bit groovy-hipster, but fun.
> http://larosa.co.uk/hotel/index.html


Oh bloody hell that's pricey!
Everywhere in Whitby seems to be.


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## editor (Jan 18, 2012)

_angel_ said:


> Oh bloody hell that's pricey!
> Everywhere in Whitby seems to be.


Yeah. But it as my only holiday so it was worth splashing out a bit more for as treat (it was an urbanite trip).


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## Bingo (Jan 18, 2012)

I'm hunting for a cheapo B n B if anyone knows one


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## bmd (Jan 18, 2012)

If you get the chance I'd recommend a trip to Sandsend, it's just a walk down the beach from Whitby. There's a lovely walk through Mulgrave Woods that starts there and can end at the top of Lythe Bank, a proper hill. You can also still see the old rail station at Sandsend and there's a nice little tea shop just beneath it, where the walk along the railway line starts. That takes you to Kettleness if you walk far enough, one of the many small villages along that rail line that used to house the miners who worked the Alum mine there, which slid into the sea one stormy night in the 19th C. If you hit it when the tide is out you can walk around the foot of the cliffs, with a very special hike back up them from Kettleness beach.


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## Bingo (Jan 19, 2012)

sounds good if its not raining, it was on my list! How long will it take?


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## Maggot (Jan 19, 2012)

The walk to Sandsend is about 3 miles along the beach. Not sure about the rest of it, cos I haven't done it.

The pictures near the beginning of this set are from the Walk to Sandsend:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrmaggot/sets/72157626573308234/


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## Bingo (Jan 19, 2012)

cheers I'll try and get a copy of the local O/S, all dependant on precipitation factor of course, its hard to get our lass on a walkies at the best of times


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## Fuchs66 (Jan 30, 2012)

Cribynkle said:


> I stayed at The Locker in Robin Hood's bay when I was over that way last year. Not Whitby but about a 10 minute taxi ride or a cliff top walk and it's an amazing place to stay


On behalf of my home village I thank you


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## Bingo (Feb 11, 2012)

Righty o, setting off in a couple of hours, big list of Fun Things, weather looks clear ish got new camera WOOOHOOO!!!!


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## Maggot (Feb 11, 2012)

Have a great time.

Just remembered there are loads of fossils on the East coast and you can do walks along the shore with a fossil expert who will show you fossils and tell you what you've found. I can't remember who organises them though.


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## Fuchs66 (Feb 12, 2012)

Maggot said:


> Have a great time.
> 
> Just remembered there are loads of fossils on the East coast and you can do walks along the shore with a fossil expert who will show you fossils and tell you what you've found. I can't remember who organises them though.


 As long as it's not one of the "fossil experts" who I often see on the beach with groups, hammering away at rocks, under overhanging parts of the cliff. Large amounts of shale and clay landing on top of you isn't healthy at all.


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## badseed (Feb 16, 2012)

Great pictures, stirred some nice memories for me. We used to go there for days out and even a family holiday one year.
I always used to love Whitby and would like to go back there some day.
Looking at these pictures I can almost smell the place.


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## editor (Aug 18, 2014)

Great to see that the second platform at Whitby is now in use. 



> For the first time in half a century there will be two steam locomotives side by side in Whitby Station on Friday 15thAugust from 10.30am to mark this monumental event. The two steam locomotives are hoped to be No. 45428 Eric Treacy and No. 61264 masquerading as classmate No. 61034 Chiru (to mark the 60th anniversary of the last train between Whitby and Stockton hauled by this engine on 13th June 1954).
> 
> From the Saturday 16th August 2014 the new platform will allow an increase from three to five in the number of NYMR trains a day to and from Whitby. The extra passengers on these trains are expected to be a major boast to the local tourist economy, so vital to this region. The extra platform also has the potential to enable more excursion trains to visit the resort.









http://www.nymr.co.uk/2014/08/nymr-launched-a-new-timetable-and-second-platform-at-whitby-station/


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## moose (Aug 21, 2014)

The train might be all they have soon - our usual B&B (best view in Whitby), my favourite wool shop, the creperie and numerous other cafes and business I've frequented for years are all up for sale at the mo. Even Spanton, with its lovely 30s exterior is going.





The recession seems to have finally stuck the knife in up there.


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## editor (Aug 21, 2014)

moose said:


> The train might be all they have soon - our usual B&B (best view in Whitby), my favourite wool shop, the creperie and numerous other cafes and business I've frequented for years are all up for sale at the mo. Even Spanton, with its lovely 30s exterior is going.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That sucks


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## Roadkill (Aug 22, 2014)

moose said:


> The train might be all they have soon - our usual B&B (best view in Whitby), my favourite wool shop, the creperie and numerous other cafes and business I've frequented for years are all up for sale at the mo. Even Spanton, with its lovely 30s exterior is going.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



That's sad.    People keep going on about the recovery but shops are still struggling.  Everyone seems to have a sale on, and in there've been a couple of closures here in Hull recently, including a really good independent music shop.  It's not only in the north either: I noticed a lot of empty shops in Exeter last month, and even in Greenwich, not exactly a poor part of London, there were a lot of gaps last time I was there.


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## redsquirrel (Aug 23, 2014)

moose said:


> The train might be all they have soon - our usual B&B (best view in Whitby), my favourite wool shop, the creperie and numerous other cafes and business I've frequented for years are all up for sale at the mo. Even Spanton, with its lovely 30s exterior is going.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Fuck, that's a pity.


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## StoneRoad (Aug 24, 2014)

moose said:


> The train might be all they have soon - our usual B&B (best view in Whitby), my favourite wool shop, the creperie and numerous other cafes and business I've frequented for years are all up for sale at the mo. Even Spanton, with its lovely 30s exterior is going.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



There must be a reason - I wonder about the local council (which is in Scarborough !) sometimes, as the support for Whitby seems almost non-existent at times. Local TI doesn't help some local attractions at all.
I visit Whitby several times a year for a range of reasons and I always try to eat / drink and buy something from locally based establishments but the flooding last winter didn't help.
Next visit will include some railway time ............


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## moose (Aug 24, 2014)

StoneRoad said:


> There must be a reason - I wonder about the local council (which is in Scarborough !) sometimes, as the support for Whitby seems almost non-existent at times. Local TI doesn't help some local attractions at all.
> I visit Whitby several times a year for a range of reasons and I always try to eat / drink and buy something from locally based establishments but the flooding last winter didn't help.
> Next visit will include some railway time ............


I think you may be right - even the Steam Bus has been driven out as they won't let it get water or park up any more. I also go several times a year, and I guess whilst I eat and drink (plenty!) there, I'm not shopping at the likes of Spanton.


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## StoneRoad (Aug 24, 2014)

Last year (2013) the Council's Highways' dept was trying to move Lizzie's stop from by the bandstand (which didn't happen) but this year's shennanigan's (not just the water supply and parking, but telling the TI to deny the bus even existed!) means that Vern and Viv have had enough and Lizzie is for sale !
I don't understand the council at all .............


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## moose (Aug 24, 2014)

Oh no, didn't know they were selling her! Another lovely thing gone


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## Roadkill (Sep 8, 2014)

StoneRoad said:


> There must be a reason - I wonder about the local council (which is in Scarborough !) sometimes, as the support for Whitby seems almost non-existent at times. Local TI doesn't help some local attractions at all.



Be that as it may, the reason shops are closing is unlikely to have much to do with the council.  Shops are closing all over the country because of the recession, and because people are buying things online rather than getting off their arses and going to proper shops.


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## MarionHaste (Mar 1, 2015)

moose said:


> The train might be all they have soon - our usual B&B (best view in Whitby), my favourite wool shop, the creperie and numerous other cafes and business I've frequented for years are all up for sale at the mo. Even Spanton, with its lovely 30s exterior is going.



Noooooooo! I have to take you to task on this - far from the recession biting in Whitby, the town is thriving. Currently we have one empty shop in the town and the lease is being signed on that imminently. The wool shop (which closed due to retirement) has passed to the next generation and moved from Church street to a new home on Skinner Street (the old council offices) which has four floors. The old chapel has been sold and will be a museum and cafe. The creperie re-opened this year (but the building is up for sale so it seems a bit half-hearted). Spanton's is up for sale due to retirement. You can't legislate for that.
Far from being on its backside, Whitby is booming.
We have our new station platform, which is bringing more and more visitors to town, and our new Park and Ride, which was packed all last season. New parking charges do not, so far, appear to be putting folks off.
Unfortunately, this mini-boom - which sees the season last almost all-year-round, is proving attractive to national chains, and we saw Costa Coffee move in this year and a new chain hotel is going up on the outskirts. Happily, this does not seem to have knocked any of the independents, leading us to conclude that Whitby is simply getting more and more busy. Hoorah!


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## moose (Mar 1, 2015)

Glad to hear it, MarionHaste - I was going off what local people were saying in the pubs and shops in August. When we went in November, there were loads of empty shops on Church Street. However I'm delighted that the town's booming - I can see for myself in April when we go again, although I'll be sad to have to find somewhere new to stay. And I'll ignore the scurrilous gossip in the Black Horse


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## MarionHaste (Mar 1, 2015)

moose said:


> Glad to hear it, MarionHaste - I was going off what local people were saying in the pubs and shops in August. When we went in November, there were loads of empty shops on Church Street. However I'm delighted that the town's booming - I can see for myself in April when we go again, although I'll be sad to have to find somewhere new to stay. And I'll ignore the scurrilous gossip in the Black Horse



No, it's fair enough really. I think the east side has its own problems: It's firmly on the tourist/browsing trail, so there is a paucity of 'real' shops over there. I can understand the frustration of that, but there's no sign that Whitby is on the slide. When a shop empties, it is snapped up. But I think you have a valuable point re Spanton's - that shopfront ought to be listed.


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## StoneRoad (Mar 1, 2015)

Was in Whitby again today (last was first week in Feb) usual coffee / book / bitsnbobs shops visited (concentrated on dog-friendly places). Lots of crocus flower buds to be seen !
Had Fish n Chips before setting off home - but the earlier showers were snow over the moors road.

image is from previous visit.



gbw - shepherd's delight par StoneRoad2013, on Ipernity


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