Whitby

• Not renting a car made life a lot simpler for us. Of course, that meant relying on public and chartered transportation instead. One of the two coach trips we took with Eddie Brown was to Whitby on the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire. It was a pleasant ride:
  

  

  En route, our stop for “coffee and cakes” gave us time to potter about the pretty town of Helmsley:
  

  

  We found Mr. and Mrs. Scarecrow already on the job:
  

  

  Overlooking the town are the haunting remains of Helmsley Castle:
  

  

  (Also near Helmsley lie the magnificent ruins of Rievaulx Abbey, much more complete than these.)
  
  Earlier in the week, snow had whitened the north of England and Scotland. Some of this April snow lingered around the Hole of Horcum in the North York Moors:
  

  

  
  Descending to the coast, we finally reached the scenic fishing village of Whitby:
  

  

  This town has a lengthy maritime history with a heritage of whaling and shipbuilding. It was the adopted home of the famous navigator and explorer, James Cook, who moved here when he was about 18, apprenticing to a Whitby ship owner in 1746. Later, after he became Captain Cook, all four of his ships --- the Endeavour, Resolution, Adventure and Discovery ---- were built at Whitby.
  
  The town is located where the River Esk empties into the North Sea:
  

  

  Tourism has brought more reknown and income to the area. Even on a drizzly day like this one, it is a magnet for tourists from all over:
  

  

  

  
  Whitby does have a train connection of sorts. The North Yorkshire Moors Heritage Railway runs steam and diesel locomotives between Pickering and Whitby, a distance of about 18 miles:

  

  
  For fascinating scenery, nautical atmosphere, real history and excellent fish and chips, Whitby is hard to beat: