Whitby

The Church Stairs rise from the bottom of Church Street to St Mary's churchyard and Whitby Abbey beyond. Count them if you like; there are benches at intervals for coffin bearers. Abbey entry is English Heritage, around £13 to £14. Go at opening or an hour before closing for the light and no crowds.

A smokehouse working from the same premises since 1872, halfway along Henrietta Street on the east side. They sell over the counter, cash preferred, usually mornings until they run out, around £5 to £7 a pair. The oak smokehouse out the back is visible from the shop and smells like the nineteenth century.

The Magpie Café on Pier Road is famous and the queue on an August afternoon reaches thirty metres. Their takeaway hatch moves faster. Otherwise Hadley's on Bridge Street and Trenchers on New Quay Road both do a genuinely excellent haddock for £12 to £16 with far less waiting.

On Grape Lane, in the harbourside house where the young James Cook lodged as an apprentice from 1746. Entry around £8, open roughly February to November. The attic where the apprentices slept and the Endeavour material are the highlights, and it is one of the least crowded attractions in the town.

Three miles north-west along the beach from West Cliff, walkable at low tide in about an hour — check tide tables, as the cliffs cut you off. Sandsend has two cafés and a good beach car park. The alternative is the Cleveland Way along the clifftop, which is higher, drier and equally good.

The North Yorkshire Moors Railway runs steam services from Whitby station along the Esk and over the moors via Goathland and Levisham to Pickering, 24 miles and around 1h45 each way. Day rover tickets are roughly £40. Book seats in advance in summer; unreserved carriages fill at Grosmont.

There is no fast train. The Esk Valley line runs Whitby–Middlesbrough in about 90 minutes with roughly four services a day, connecting for Darlington and the East Coast Main Line. By road from York allow 1h15 via Malton and Pickering on the A169 over the moors — the Hole of Horcum viewpoint is on the way. The X93 bus links Scarborough (1 hour) and Middlesbrough. Teesside Airport is 75 minutes by car, Leeds Bradford about 2h. In town everything is walkable but steep and cobbled; the West Cliff lift saves the beach climb in season, and the seasonal Park & Ride on Stainsacre Lane is the only sane option for drivers in summer.

Not directly. The historic line closed and the current route runs York to Middlesbrough, then the Esk Valley line into Whitby, which takes around three hours in total with only a handful of connections a day. Driving takes 1h15. The Coastliner bus from York via Pickering is slower but scenic and runs more often.

Twice a year — one around the last weekend of April and one at the end of October near Halloween. They are the busiest weekends of Whitby's calendar and accommodation across the whole town sells out six to twelve months ahead, at premium rates. If you are not attending, avoid those dates entirely.

The central car parks on Church Street and Langborne Road fill by mid-morning from Easter to September and cost around £12 to £16 for the day. The Park & Ride on Stainsacre Lane, running in the main season, is the reliable option at a few pounds including the bus. Hotels with their own parking are worth paying extra for.

West Cliff for comfort, views, parking and the beach; it has the majority of the guesthouses at £80 to £150 and a level walk along the Crescent. The east side for atmosphere and the abbey steps, at the cost of cobbles, luggage-hauling and pub noise. Both are inside ten minutes of the swing bridge.