The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 1.5 miles (2.4 km)
Time to walk: This is just a short stroll that can be combined with visiting many other area of Whitby. It doesn’t include the steps up to the Abbey or the area around the Marina
Difficulty: All on hard surfaces & just a stroll
Public toilets: Lots around the town
Map of the route:
Whitby is one of my ‘happy places’ & the sight of its famous Abbey from driving along the road miles away always lifts my spirits
Whitby is situated at the mouth of the River Esk on the east coast of North Yorkshire. The fishing port began during the Middle Ages, supporting important herring & whaling fleets & was where Captain Cook learned seamanship & also where his first vessel to explore the southern ocean, HMS Endeavour, was built
Jet & alum were mined locally & Whitby jet, which was mined by the Romans & Victorians, became fashionable during the 19th century
The earliest record of a permanent settlement is in 656 AD. The town’s East Cliff is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey, where Cædmon, the earliest recognised English poet, lived. Another monastery was founded in 1078 AD. It was in this period that it gained its current name, Whitby (from “white settlement” in Old Norse). In the following centuries Whitby functioned as a fishing settlement until, in the 18th century, it developed as a port & centre for shipbuilding & whaling, the trade in locally mined alum, & the manufacture of Whitby jet jewellery. Tourism started in Whitby during the Georgian period & developed with the arrival of the railway in 1839
Whitby’s attraction as a tourist destination is enhanced by the nearby high ground of the North York Moors national park & the heritage coastline & by association with the horror novel ‘Dracula’. The abbey ruin at the top of the East Cliff is the town’s oldest & most prominent landmark
I can highly recommend a visit to the excellent tourist office with its extremely knowledgeable & friendly staff. Whilst there I found a leaflet called ‘Whitby Walk With Heritage’ which is a trail that features 9 life-size sculptures by local artist Emma Stothard
All are inspired by Whitby’s fishing heritage, so I asked if I could reproduce the route for my website to help promote it & using any quotes from the leaflet in speech marks
They were kind enough to agree as it would expose it to more visitors so…
Let’s Walk!
1. This walk starts on the Abbey side of the River Esk in Church Street opposite the Middle Earth Tavern…
Opposite on the Quay Side’s a wonderful statue celebrating ‘Penny Hedge’…
“The penny hedge planting ritual takes place every year at 8am on the eve of Ascension day under the supervision of the Baliff of the Manor of Fyling. It represents the yearly penance of the planting of a horngarth (penny) hedge for the unlawful killing of a hermit in 1159. When the hedge is planted, a horn is blown 3 times & the call of ‘Out on ye, out on ye, out on ye’ is made”
2. Walk back along Church Street towards the town centre…
On the right look out for the Seamans Hospital…
3. Bear left along Grape Lane…
Along here’s the Captain Cook Museum, situated in Walker’s House which 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
4. At the end of the Lane turn left & walk down to the Swing Bridge. Before crossing, on the right, up against the wall’s ‘Bridgender’…
“Wherever a harbourside railing could be found, there could be found groups of men, passing the time of day, sharing gossip & knowledge…the “University of Whitby”. Favoured spots were Tate Hill Pier, Pier Road, St Ann’s Staith or either end of Whitby Bridge, hence…”the Bridgenders”
5. Cross the bridge to the West side of town. Hopefully you’ll get a chance to see it swing open…
Look to the left of the far side to find the ‘Fishwife’…
“Women were a big part of the fishing community. As well as being at the heart of the family home they would have been a big help and support in their husbands’ job as fishermen”
6. Facing the statue turn left & then cross the road & bear left up steep Golden Lion Bank…
As the street opens out into Flowergate you’ll find the ‘Net Mender’…
“Whether it is line, pot or net, the essential equipment of the fisherman needs constant attention. Nets being mended by hand has always been a common Whitby harbourside scene”
Indeed they were still hand-mending some the day we did this walk
7. Look to the left…
Flowergate Old Chapel was first built around 1720 when the law changed & allowed rational dissenters to gather together in worship. Before that they could only meet secretly in each others’ homes in groups of no more than five or six otherwise they faced imprisonment
Continue up Flowergate…
8. On the left’s one of our favourite shops…The Fuzzy Dog Bakery! At first glimpse this could be an actual bakery & that’s what it is but for dogs…as lovely Australian, Lou Rodchenkova, bakes all the items herself & she is simply wonderful.
So if you’re visiting Whitby with a pooch go & visit. She is a mind of knowledge & will advise you if your dog has a special diet etc – Lily always makes a beeline for the door!!
9. Continue up the left side of the road to arrive at the ‘Gansey Knitter’…
“The Gansey sweater is one of the most practical garments in the history of knitwear. Every feature of this sweater has been carefully chosen to meet the daily needs of its wearer, yet it is highly attractive too. The Gansey is a hard-wearing seamless sweater worn by Fishermen who spent their days at sea. Ganseys have been worn for hundreds of years”
10. Cross the road & head up Skinner Street…
On the right’s a Whitby institution…E Botham & Sons
Elizabeth Botham set up the bakery over 150 years ago. She started selling her bread & cakes from a basket at the local market & eventually bought the premises we see today which is now 5th generation family
11. On the left at the junction of Skinner Street & John Street’s Frank Meadow Sutcliffe…
“Frank Meadow Sutcliffe F.R.P.S was born in 1853. He was a Victorian photographer who captured everyday life with his artistry and skill in the early days of photography when most of the imagery portraying Victorian life was either drawn or painted. Sutcliffe captured the local life and scenes which show in the most stunning clarity the working lives of fishermen and farmers, herring girls and barefoot children”
12. Continue to the top of Skinner Street, cross the road & bear left along the seafront…
I love the next statue looking out to sea. This is the Crow’s Nest…
“During the late 18th and 19th centuries Whitby was a prosperous port with booming shipbuilding and whaling industries. Two of the most successful whaling captains were William Scoresby Senior and his son, William Scoresby Junior. Scoresby Senior is credited as inventing the ‘crow’s nest’ a look out point that provided shelter for the ship’s navigator”
13. Turn round & follow the coast path back, passing Whitby theatre…
On the left look out for Skipper Dora…
“Dora Walker (1890 – 1980) was the first female fishing boat skipper on the North East coast. She was also an author, writing her memoirs of nursing in World War I, as well as history and tales of the fishing community in Whitby and the North East coast”
14. Continue looking out for the building in the dip…
This sunken garden was designed by ‘Whitby in Bloom’ & was installed in 2014. An attack took place in 1914 on December 16th when two German battle cruisers carried out the raid on Scarborough, Whitby & Hartlepool, firing shells onto the town of Whitby. The shelling destroyed homes in the town
A century later this garden was created to mark the event & to honour the two Whitby residents who lost their lives
The house in the garden is not an original building but specially built to show the damage caused by the shelling. It resembles a typical house dating back to 1914 & shows a fireplace & sink of that period. Look for the shell lodged in the living room floor
15. Continue ahead to arrive at the statue of Captain Cook overlooking the harbour…
The statue commemorates the men who built the four ships that Cook used on his voyages; Endeavour, Resolution, Adventure & Discovery
And next to it you have the picture everyone wants to take…the Abbey through the Whalebone Arch
16. The view across the river to the Abbey is just a classic & one of my ‘Go To’ places…
Follow the steep path & then road down to the harbour front. The beach is superb but there was no walking on it today…
17. Pass the shelter…
To arrive at the final statues which are the Herring Girls…
“From the early 1900’s until the second world war, a huge fishing fleet followed the shoals of herring as they swam southwards along the North East Coast in late summer & autumn. I order to gut the fish as soon as they were landed, women fish gutters, known as ‘herring girls’ followed the fishing fleet south by train, getting off to be ready and waiting whenever the fleet came in to unload their catch”
“Mainly from Scotland, the women worked in teams of three – usually an older experienced woman kept an eye on the two younger girls. Normally two gutted the fish while a third packed them into a barrel. Some of the girls started work as young as 15 years old
The arrival of the herring fleet was a welcome sight and local families in the area would clear out a room in their cottages in order to lodge some of the herring girls. Lasting friendships were formed as workers returned to the same lodgings year after year”
18. So that’s it…all that’s left to do to finish this walk is to walk along the Quay & grab yourself some fish ‘n’ chips from the world famous Magpie Cafe
So that’s it…I just love Whitby & always feel at home here
Maybe next life
Go Walk 🙂