Whitby, North Yorkshire.

Whitby is dominated by the cliff-top ruins of a beautiful 13th century Abbey. This quaint maritime town, with its old cobbled streets, picturesque houses and sandy blue flag beach, is set among fine stretches of coast with spectacular cliffs and bays. 199 steps lead down from the Abbey to the old town where you find yourself in a shoppers’ paradise. With an array of unique shops offering local crafts, famous Whitby Jet jewellery, maritime memorabilia and antiques, you are sure to find that holiday treasure. A selection of diverse attractions includes the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, Victorian Jet Works, the Dracula Experience and Whitby Museum, which offers a cabinet of curiosities from geology to jet carving, birdlife to bygones and costumes to clocks. For food connoisseurs, Whitby has it all. Award winning seafood restaurants, continental delights, traditional sea-shanty inns preparing locally cooked produce and olde worlde English tea rooms serving freshly baked pastries and Yorkshire teas, plus a smoke house for the famous Whitby Kippers.

The Whitby Gothic Weekend

The Whitby Gothic Weekend is a twice-yearly festival for Goths, in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England. The first festival was held in 1994, and it was held annually until 1997, when it became a twice-yearly event - generally held in April and October/November. Whitby was chosen in part because it features in Bram Stoker's Dracula as well as inspiring it. It has now grown into one of the most popular gothic events in the world, attracting attendees from across the UK and around the world. Most of the events are held at the town's 1,000 capacity Spa Pavilion, however, other venues such as The Metropole Hotel are used for overspill and unofficial events. Accommodation is normally fully booked up well in advance. Although referred to as a "weekend" it includes events during the day on Friday and fringe events on the Thursday and Monday. The event always sells out and many more people attend than there are tickets available, resulting in booming business for Whitby pubs such as The Angel and The Elsinore.