~Whitby~
25th September 2013
The Piers
Scroll down for photos and a description of the day....
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Ditto Restuarant |
Near Enough? |
The Ratcliffes arrived in Whitby on Tuesday afternoon (24th). We were staying at Sandpiper House on Belle Vue Terrace, Whitby and chose to eat at "Ditto" in the evening. Do you refer to / use "tripadvisor"? The rampant behemoth of all places to stay or visit has become quite a force, but you have to read between the lines and remove the very best and very worst reviews from your mind. "Ditto", at the time of visitng, was No.1 of 151 restuarants in the town.
Starlings Ahoy!
I take a typical early morning, pre -breakfast stroll to see what's what. It's grey and very misty, starlings occupy the rigging on the promenade. Captain Cook is getting the usual statue-treatment by one of the locals.
Captain Cook
Cook was born in Marton, nr. Middlesbrough and moved to Staithes (see later report on here) in 1745 and 18 months later found himself in Whitby, aged 18 or so. Here he joined the merchant navy and a career on the seas was underway.
Whitby Piers and Lighthouses
The harbour entrance is well defended by two piers with breakwaters. The west pier (left) allows pedestrians to reach the breakwater and get further out to sea, but the east pier has a gap in the structure.
The Harbour Bridge
The swing bridge is used to allow taller boats in and out of the harbour. After breakfast, we take a look at the town and have a walk up to the Abbey.
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Skinner Street |
Flowergate |
Skinner Street leads to Belle Vue Terrace, where we are staying. Flowergate has an interesting stone from years ago presenting the line painters with a little challenge, little doubt that it was for horse mounting.
Whitby Town Hall
Henrietta Street
A quaint old street on the east "old" side of town, just a grit bin and a steel fence to add some untidyness to the scene.
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199 Steps |
St.Mary's Church |
The only walkway from town to Whitby Abbey is via the 199 Steps, numerically marked on every tenth step and on the final one at the top. St.Mary's (Anglican) Church is close to the Abbey.
The Piers
That's what I mean about not being able to get to the breakwater on the east pier! A dredger is working in the main channel. Is this another "Painting the Forth Bridge" type job?
Abbey House
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Whitby Abbey
Grounds and the abbey are looked after by English Heritage, popular with school parties.
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Abbey Views
Whitby Railway Station
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway runs steam trains to Whitby. As is often the case, supermarkets and their customers' cars have moved in where sidings and sheds used to be.
Soon, the rain arrived and that was that for the day.
Refreshment Review: Ditto Restuarant has a menu of limited choices, a little too limited for the starters but adequate for the main courses. The ambience and service are excellent and the quality of the food, very good. Two courses for £25 per head.
All photos copyright Richard Ratcliffe 2013 ©
Take me back to the start ....