Epilogue: Robin Hood’s Bay to Whitby and Beyond

What do we do the day after completing a long walk? How do we deal with the “day after Christmas” feeling? Well, if it was Christmas we would engage in some retail therapy and get the endorphins pumping. So, of course we will WALK!

Since there is no sense of urgency to get to a destination, we sleep in. Then we savor a delicious breakfast at whatever time we please (as long as it is between 8 am-10am) before heading out.

We are walking seven miles north on the Cleveland Way along the edge of the North Sea to Whitby.

It is another perfect day; the weather is even better than yesterday. We plan to arrive in Whitby for lunch, spend the day and return by bus.

Whitby is famous for its picturesque seaside town and also for its role in Bram’s Stoker’s Dracula.

The tide is out and Robin Hood’s Bay is behind us as we head north.

We stop along the way to investigate things we didn’t pay too much attention to yesterday. This is a rocket post. A small cannon would shoot a line to allow lifesaving equipment to reach a stranded vessel allowing people to be brought back safely to land. 

The walk is undulating and views are breathtaking the entire way.

We pass Whitby lighthouse.

Yesterday and today as we walk we can see Whitby and the ruins of Whitby Abbey against the skyline. 

Even from a distance it is easy to understand how Whitby with its prominent headland and the imposing Whitby Abbey ruins became part of Bram Stoker’s gothic story. Whitby is where Dracula’s ship wrecks and he comes ashore in England.

We pass through a caravan park on our way. Location, location, location. At low tide you can take the steep path to the beach. 

We are only making a quick pit stop. 

You’ve heard the saying “Have a bee up your butt”, what about a bear?

An imposing presence even from afar.

As we get closer to town the Abbey looms.

The Abbey was established in 657 AD. The Abbey and its possessions were confiscated under Henry VIII in 1538 and eventually dissolved into ruins.

In Chapter 6 of Dracula: “Right over the town is the ruin of Whitby Abbey, which was sacked by the Danes… It is a most noble ruin, of immense size, and full of beautiful and romantic bits.

Chapter 6 continued: “Between it and the town, there’s another church, the parish one, round which is a big graveyard, all full of tombstones. This is to my mind, the nicest spot in Whitby, for it lies right over the town, and has a full view of the harbor and all up the bay to where the headland called Kettleness stretches out into the sea.”

It is reached from town by a climb of 199 steps. Luckily we are approaching town from the opposite direction.

Beside the 199 steps is this walkway.

As we carefully make our way down a gentlemen stops to tell us, “You know that Dracula ran up this same road.”

I respond in fascination, “Really?”

 “He’s not real, you know,” he replies.

Wow, that’s a buzz kill.

Approaching town descending 199 steps feels theatrical.

It is a lovely September weekday and the town is busy. What must it be like on a summer weekend!

We find a restaurant overlooking the river to enjoy a lunch of fresh fish. This is the fish and chips we have been waiting for. 

We also watch this unique bridge that swings open like a gate to allow boats to pass through.

In the late afternoon we make our way along the river to catch the bus to return to Robin Hood’s Bay.

Just in time for Happy Hour at the Victoria Hotel. We also have our farewell dinner in the lovely dining room overlooking the bay.

BEYOND

On Friday morning, in a light drizzle that seems to echo our mood, we board a bus to Scarborough for our trip to London.

We spend the afternoon and evening in Richmond seeking out Ted Lasso and the AFC Richmond Greyhounds before departing for the U.S. on Saturday.

Petra and Gwen spend the morning exploring the bay at low tide and visiting some shops in Robin Hood’s Bay…

…before boarding the bus to the train station and their final destinations. Gwen heads to Manchester and then home to the U.S. on Saturday. 

Petra reunites with her family and spends some time at Barbie’s caravan before she heads home to the U.S. later in the week.