Whitby - Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire

WHITBY, where is Whiby? Where the sound of gulls, the smell of fish, the sight of red roofs up the steep banks from the quay leading to the ruins of the abbey on the cliff. Or so the chair of the Whitby district tourism association said.


I barely had a typical nights sleep yesterday, looking forward to this adventure. With  a journey that would last for 2 and a half hours, I immersed myself with Sarah Water's book while simply jotting down my imprints of my mind for the thought of premature Alzheimer terrifies me. Meanwhile, the tour leader, a new one I suppose attempted to break off the awkward silence by giving us a descriptive impression of Whitby and how to tour around the vicinity of this civil parish town. I cannot help but feel humored by her rather "inappropriate" but truthful explanation that there is really little to see. I certainly felt that to be absolutely subjective to one's own definition of "attractions" and whichever place they choose to spend their time on. Nevertheless, she did splendidly. We reached The Docks End (pic) at 10 in the morning, and with 10 other coaches on the way, the loo became an attraction herself. Never have you seen a queue, longer that all of the queues in the loos along the North-South Highway of Malaysia.

Our arrival to Whitby were greeted by the warmth of the sunshine and the harbor itself. Ships, boats and everything sea-like were docked side by side and seagulls greeted us their the chatters and occasionally their droppings too. we made our way to one of Whitby's famous fish and chips eatery - The Magpie and award winning Quayside. Queues could stretch till the road whenever their door opens so we made sure we landed our hands on this specialty dish early. Of the both, Quayside was the better with a fresher cod, and a more flavorful tartar sauce. But when indulging, be aware of the jealousy in the eyes of the seagulls, for they look at you with piercing eyes, longing for a taste of that heavenly food. 


We next made our way to the the West Pier where the lighthouse was situated, and next to the pier were a beach called the Whitby Sands (pic) which the view was absolutely breathtaking. people were thronging the beach with men, women, couples and their children, all longing for a taste of the warm summer with surfing, building sand castles, or simply laying down, basking under the sun. it was a totally different story for us as we frantically draw our sun lotions from our bags or risk charring ourselves in that ray of light. with a stroll along the beach, we took photos of the astonishingly smashing looking lifeguard, a little marine seminar and did some people watching ourselves.

Another thing famous in Whitby apart from its fish and chips is the feature of Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, which brings us to a "The Dracula Experience", where you get scared all around the place with actors on costumes and sound effects, 2pounds we thought was not worth the money. From one shop to another, we wanted some souvenirs to bring back, when a rather unfortunate thing happened to my friend. He was savoring the taste of fried onions on his cheeseburger, without realizing a dozen pairs of evil eyes spying on him,  when an innocent yet viscous looking seagull swooped past him and took hold of his harvest, gobbled it down and looked away without a bit of remorse in its face, which left my friend astounded. 

Later in the evening, we continued our tour with a visit to St Mary's church (pic) and the Whitby Abbey, a ruined monastery. The church is reached by 199 stone steps up from town and it has a churchyard filled with tombstones and monuments to sailors, fishermen and Royal Navy seamen. 






Our day in Whitby couldn't have ended better with a scoop of truly dairy ice cream with mouth watering flavours, Whiby is, a place where pets run free, Britain's best fish and chips are here, and a town with a big heart. Fond memories are made, friendships were strengthened and a sun burn skin becomes testimony and witness to our extraordinary experience, here in Whitby.