Whitby

Whitby's hotels split naturally between the West Cliff, where most of the town's larger properties look out over the harbour mouth and North Sea from Victorian terraces, and the quieter countryside around Sandsend and the moors edge, where converted country houses and restaurants with rooms offer a slower pace a short drive from the harbour. Staying on the West Cliff puts you within an easy walk of the abbey steps, the jet shops of Church Street and the working harbour, while a room out towards Sandsend suits visitors who want sea views, gardens and quiet without giving up easy access into town.

The eight properties below cover that range, from a spa hotel and a country house set in its own grounds through to characterful mid-range hotels in converted historic buildings, down to small, personally run guest houses close to the seafront. Whitby's geography means many of its older buildings sit on steep, narrow streets, so some of its most characterful stays are boutique rather than sprawling, with a handful of individually decorated rooms rather than long corridors of identical ones. Booking ahead matters here more than in many English seaside towns: Whitby's Goth Weekends in spring and autumn fill the town completely, as does the school summer holiday period, and rooms with harbour or sea views go first.

Parking is worth factoring into any choice of hotel, since the old town's narrow streets leave little room for on-site parking at some of the most characterful East Side addresses, while West Cliff and out-of-town properties generally offer their own car parks. Breakfast is taken seriously across the range, with several properties sourcing local kippers, Yorkshire bacon and free-range eggs, and a handful of the smaller guest houses building a following on their breakfast alone. Dog-friendly rooms are common given Whitby's popularity with walkers tackling the Cleveland Way, so it is worth checking a property's pet policy directly if travelling with an animal.

Whitby rewards a slow pace, with most of its sights within easy walking distance of the harbour.

• Whitby Abbey is the town's defining landmark, a ruined Benedictine abbey on the East Cliff with sweeping coastal views and an exhibition on its Anglo-Saxon origins and Dracula associations.
• The 199 Steps climb from Church Street to St Mary's Church and the abbey, passing benches where, tradition holds, coffin bearers once rested on the way to burials.
• St Mary's Church is a rare survival of box pews, a triple-decker pulpit and galleries added piecemeal over centuries, set in a windswept clifftop graveyard.
• Captain Cook Memorial Museum, housed in the harbourside house where Cook lodged as an apprentice, tells the story of his voyages and his years learning seamanship in Whitby.
• Whitby Museum in Pannett Park holds an eccentric, much-loved collection spanning fossils, a hand of glory, ship models and Captain Cook artefacts.
• Whitby Jet shops and workshops along Church Street and Sandgate sell and explain the polished black gemstone that made the town famous in mourning jewellery under Queen Victoria.
• The North Yorkshire Moors Railway runs steam trains from Whitby station through Goathland (Aidensfield in Heartbeat, Hogsmeade in the Harry Potter films) to Pickering.
• Whitby Harbour and the piers are the town's working heart, with fish quays, crabbing off the harbourside, and a walk out along the East and West piers to the lighthouses at the harbour mouth.

Fish and chips define Whitby's food reputation, cooked in beef dripping at long-established chippies along the harbourside and Skinner Street, best eaten from the paper looking out over the water. The town's fishing fleet supplies crab and lobster sold fresh from harbourside stalls and served in sandwiches and salads at cafes along Pier Road. Whitby's smokehouses cure kippers and other fish using traditional methods, a legacy of the herring trade that once dominated the port, and several shops still sell them for breakfast. The Whitby Coffee House and a growing number of independent cafes on Flowergate and Baxtergate serve locally roasted coffee and home baking for those wanting a break from the seafront. Evening dining ranges from harbourside seafood restaurants specialising in the day's catch to gastropubs serving Yorkshire game and moorland lamb, while historic pubs such as those on Church Street and around the harbour pour local ales from North Yorkshire breweries. A farmers' and produce market operates periodically in the town, selling local cheese, preserves and baked goods, and several bakeries specialise in Whitby's own version of the Yorkshire curd tart and stottie bread.

Whitby is ringed by the North York Moors National Park, and the campsites within reach of the town make the most of that landscape, from woodland touring parks a few miles inland to coastal sites near Robin Hood's Bay with sea views and beach access. None of the sites listed below sit inside Whitby itself, since the town's steep streets leave no room for camping, but all are within around eight miles, close enough for a short drive or, in some cases, a scenic walk along the Cleveland Way.

Facilities across the area's sites tend towards well-run family parks with strong environmental credentials rather than budget backpacker pitches: several hold David Bellamy Conservation Awards and AA star ratings, reflecting the National Park setting. Expect a mix of touring and motorhome pitches with electric hook-up, growing numbers of glamping pods for those without their own kit, and, at the more coastal sites, direct or near-direct beach access. Dogs are welcome at all three sites below, in keeping with the walker- and cyclist-friendly character of this stretch of coast and moor.

All three parks sit within the North York Moors National Park boundary or on its immediate fringe, which means dark skies, quiet lanes and direct access to walking and cycling routes without having to drive to a trailhead. Two of the three are within easy reach of Robin Hood's Bay, a natural pairing for a day out on foot along the Cleveland Way, while the third, further inland, suits those who want woodland shelter and a base for exploring the moors themselves. Booking ahead in the school summer holidays and around Whitby's Goth Weekends is advisable, as these small, well-regarded parks fill quickly once word gets around.