Whitby is a city of historical importance, being the birthplace to the earliest of the 11 recognized medieval English poets, Caedmon(Cædmon), also being the adopted home of explorer Captain Cook. In the 18th century Whitby was also popular for it's Jet and Alum mining, apart from being a port.
The city is most popular for it's coastline, for the national park North York Moors, with 554² miles/1.436 km² and a population of over 24.000, and for being the setting for the book Dracula from Bram Stoker, (which we read at Birmingham Library, were very exited for and then became afraid to walk at night because of it. One of the reasons why we were visiting parks so often was to collect garlic flowers to defend ourselves, the stakes were the easy part).
The natal rate in Whitby is negative, there was a decrease of 13.213 people from 2001 to 2011
Since 1974 Whitby has been administered by Scarborough Borough Council, one of the seven district councils in North Yorkshire.
On the road to Whitby we stopped and meditated, gathering our memories of the places we visited, creating some sort of metaphysical travel diary, which took the form of this blog
First things first, we came here looking for beaches and we got it! Most interestingly, we all found the setting familiar, as if we had read about it somewhere. - This is Robin Hood's bay, we learned that is was the setting to some Bramblewick novels, bur we have never heard of them before, that's not why they are so familiar. We will need to research more.
We were told by the natives back in York that many fossils, including dinosaur bones and footprints, can be found at the bays in Whitby, so we came prepared to do some fossil hunting. Once here we learned that there is a stretch of coast called the Fossil Coast (or Dinosaur/Jurassic Coast) where the presence of fossils is abundant, it covers over 35 miles/56 km of the coast and many important fossils such as a Sauropod backbone have been found here. We came here expecting to make big discoveries but in the end all we found were some corals and petrified eggs, next time we bring the power tools. For now we will try to uncover the mystery behind the familiarity of the place.
Walking around the bay we sighted an interesting structure on the background in Bay Town and started walking towards it.
The trail led us to some steps, we counted 199, St Mary's Church is right ahead, we were told, an Anglican church founded in 1110. When we realized where we were a collective fear engulfed us and sent shivers down our spines. -"Where have we brought ourselves to ?!!" - "OH MY SHOES!"
Being in this place and seeing this scenery made us instantly remember a description we read in a book back in Birmingham Library: "For a moment or two I could see nothing, as the shadow of a cloud obscured St. Mary's Church. Then as the cloud passed I could see the ruins of the Abbey coming into view; and as the edge of a narrow band of light as sharp as a sword-cut moved along, the church and churchyard became gradually visible... It seemed to me as though something dark stood behind the seat where the white figure shone, and bent over it. What it was, whether man or beast, I could not tell." We then knew where we actually where, the setting for the novel Dracula by 'Bram Stoker.
We got over the scare and the mages casted a blessing spell to heal the guild, only now did we open our eyes and notice how strange some people are dressed. Turns out they are getting ready for Whitby Goth Weekend, a townwide music festival which happens every April and October
The town is famous for being an inspiration for the writing of Dracula, being place to a Dracula experience building, which we will pass for now. Our last experience was scary enough.
Lastly we visit the North York Moors to appreciate the unique views and vegetation, making our way to Middlesbrough. North York Moors is a National Park with one of the largest expanses of heather moorland in the UK, with a total area of 554² miles/1.436 km². It sustains three main types of landscape; The North York Moors, with acid soil, The limestone belt, with fertile alkaline soils and, The coast landscape, with shore vegetation. It is populated by farmers and cattle, with over 24.000 individuals.
Next stop, Ironland! We guess that's what the taste of blood resembles the most.
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