Whitby holiday now?

[itistiime]

Has anyone been or lives near?

How is it at the moment? We've had a week in a cottage booked for 10 months and plan to still go next week (me, DH and 3 year old DS)

DS just wants to paddle in the sea. That's it. Will it be a nightmare? Is it really busy?

We live an hour or so away by car, went a couple of days ago and sorry to say it was absolutely rammed!
We were like WTF lol, couldn't even get parked.
Try Sandsend which is literally minutes up the road - we managed a paddle in the sea there and a walk along the beach and that was all we wanted! Just as lovely and more quieter, we went after lunch

I absolutely adore Whitby, but only go out of season or at Christmas.
I went once during the Easter holidays and it was unbearably busy.
I should imagine that it's one of the busiest places in GB. It's only a small place aswell.
Like pp said, the parking alone will be horrendous.

DS could paddle in the sea in October, so perhaps suggest it then, and use social distancing as a reason. It may seem a young age, but getting your DS used to having to wait for some things and to disappointment may be a good thing.

Don't go to any seaside place over the next few weeks if you have any choice.

There are lots of beaches up the coast which will be much quieter. Whitby is always busy. I’d just use it as a base.

It depends on your definition of "busy". We went for the first week of the school summer holidays and it was absolutely fine. If you go to the beaches early (by 10, say) and get set up then you'll have no trouble. Even later on in the day the car parks would be full but there would be acres of space on the beach. We went into town early too when the kids wanted to spend their holiday money. Shops, restaurants and takeaways were well set up for social distancing.

We had a lovely time - don't let anyone scare you away!

We have just come back from that part of the country, but we're a bit further south. We drove through Whitby, the kids were asleep in the car so we didn't stop. It did look busy but like other people have said, other parts of the coast were fine. If you have a car it will be fine, just venture a bit further out and you will find quiet places! Book places to eat in advance or eat at the cottage and it will be fine. We had a lovely time!

We've just had a week in Whitby and it was really busy which we loved! Yes, that sounds weird but we went in May and it was awful, so depressing and you just felt for all the small businesses there.

Now, it's busy but all the shops, cafes and lubs have got social distancing sussed and we felt quite safe everywhere.

If you have small children then you'll be at the beach early which will be fine. Sandsend beach is nicer than Whitby but if ypu don't get parked by 9.30, you don't have a chance.

I live very close to Whitby and it is overrun and awful right now.

@elstree2020

DS could paddle in the sea in October, so perhaps suggest it then, and use social distancing as a reason. It may seem a young age, but getting your DS used to having to wait for some things and to disappointment may be a good thing.

Don't go to any seaside place over the next few weeks if you have any choice.

Ds is living through a pandemic so has had no choice but to learn to cope with disappointment (he didn't see his grandma who he usually saw 2x week and is his absolute favourite person in the world for 14 weeks) the problem is it's booked and paid for and it wasn't cheap. I wouldn't go if it wasn't already booked, I was kind of hoping the weather would be rubbish so it would be quiet because he will paddle in the sea in any weather.

We will eat in the cottage or get take away. We have parking with the cottage and the beach is apparently 2 mins walk from there.

Any more recommendations for quiet beaches or restaurants that do socially distancing etc very well would be gratefully received

Your holiday sounds lovely OP and I would definitely go. We’ve been to Whitby for a number of holidays and I think it is always busy at this time of year but as your cottage is so close to the sea you can just pop back and forth and don’t need to set up camp there if it is heaving.

Sandsend as mentioned has a fantastic beach and is my fave place in the area. Runswick bay has recently won a beach award and Robin Hood’s bay is great to visit too although there is a fairly long walk down to the bay from the parking. Staithes is great too and they filmed a CBeebies series there that your DS may have watched.

Go and have fun. That’s an order

We’re going next weekend for a week. I expect it to be very busy yes but mostly to use our cottage (on the outskirts) as a base to explore the local area.

It’s very busy and the seagulls are particularly aggressive so watch out if you try to eat outdoors! I got mugged repeatedly when I went. It’s hard to distance in the narrow streets but the beach is huge when the tide is out so you’ll have plenty of space there. I had a great time but you do need to be prepared for crowds (and seagulls - honestly, I’ve been going every year for over a decade and never been attacked by one but it was relentless this time).

We live near enough that Whitby is a manageable day trip. It's usually packed unless the weather is dreadful, it's winter, or it's midweek in termtime. I wouldn't go, TBH. If you are determined to go, be aware that it will probably be a holiday of avoiding the crowds, lots of walking & beach paddling. (Which still sounds quite nice!)

We're going on Monday camping for a week. Cannot wait. After everything my kids have been through since March I wouldn't dream of cancelling. Well just go to quieter beaches.

If you’re that close to the beach and don’t need parking etc you’ll be fine. We stayed at Sandsend one year and it is a lovely beach and has a cliff walk too if you fancy a change. It’s a beautiful part of the world enjoy!

We have just been. Where is your cottage?
The West Cliff side of town was absolutely fine, lots of space and easy to social distance. The beach itself was fine, felt safe and not too busy at all.

However the area around the bridge, pier road, amusements and Church Street were far too busy for me. I would still go but steer clear from these areas.

We didn't eat out but I saw a few restaurants looking very organised and socially distanced.

We went to Sandsend beach a few times, this was lovely and very easy to socially distance. Parking was the issue but we just circled around the main car park, people seem to leave quite regularly.

Also we went for evening walks when things were much quieter. If you fancy the Abbey and the coastal walks around there I would recommend driving to the car park as the abbey steps were busy in the day.

I went to Whitby on Monday. It did NOT feel safe.

Heaving crowds, absolutely zero social distancing in the streets. Tried to get something to eat, but all cafes were packed with no evidence of any social distancing.

We gave up and turned round after about 5 minutes. It was awful.

Please don't worry about some of these OTT comments. Never been attacked by a seagull in 6 years of holidays! Saltwick Bay is right near Whitby Abbey and has good rock pools - you might need to carry DS down as the steps are a bit steep but it's a good place to potter.