Whitby Abbey

Whitby Abbey stands on the clifftop above the old fishing town like a Gothic skeleton against the North Sea sky — its roofless nave and soaring arches silhouetted against the clouds in one of the most dramatic settings of any ruin in England. The abbey was founded in 657 AD and the current ruins date from the 13th and 14th centuries. Bram Stoker visited in 1890 and the abbey's brooding presence inspired the Dracula chapters set in Whitby. The climb up the 199 steps from the town to the abbey is a Whitby rite of passage. The views from the top — across the harbour, the red-roofed town, and the wild North Yorkshire coastline — are spectacular. The adjacent visitor centre tells the abbey's long history, from the Anglo-Saxon Synod of Whitby to its destruction during the Dissolution. Whitby itself is a wonderful town — proper fish and chips (the Magpie Café is legendary), a working harbour, jet jewellery workshops, and one of the most photogenic harbours in England. The Whitby Goth Weekend (twice a year) fills the town with magnificent Victorian Gothic outfits. Allow a full day for abbey, town, and harbour.