3 hours in Whitby!

[DorsetCamping]

Currently staying in N Yorks and tomorrow we are taking the midday steam train from Pickering to Whitby, giving us 3 hours to mooch around.

Not a huge amount of time but wondering if anyone would have any suggestions/an itinerary on how best to spend those 3 hours?
Obviously keen on the 'Dracula' trail but a trip to the Abbey might take too long? Would also like to get a flavour of the town itself.

Two teens with us and will also need to factor in eating at some point. Maybe fish and chips?

Thank you

Whitby is tiny. You can walk up over the bridge, up the steps to the Abbey, see St Mary's church and fit in a cup of tea in three hours!

Head to the Old Town, don't bother with NewTown (where you get off the train). Get over the swing bridge and potter around the little shops and head up the hill to the Abbey headland for the views and the niceness. Get tea and cake in one of the little cafes (the Magpie will be rammed for fish and chips, and the takeaway queue will be huge too). Whitby is BUSY at the moment.

And it's chilly. Wear a jumper.

Agree about Whitby being busy, you could probably spend 3 hours in the queue for fish and chips from Magpie.

It will be a nightmare at the moment with social distancing measures.

I went between Christmas and New year last year and it was completely rammed then and the weather wasn't that great.

I only went because I'd gone to walk on the moors but it was really foggy so decided to carry on to Whitby instead.

For fish and chips go to trenchers. Much nicer than the magpie and your not squashed in like sardines!

Yep, I second Trenchers. Grew up in Scarborough and we always went there. Magpie is too higgledy piggledy and squashed in. I would head over the bridge too and mooch around the shops (there’s a lovely bookshop) and then head up the steps to the Abbey. If you have time, you could wander down the other side and onto the pier.

Yes go to the bookshop just over the bridge as if you’re walking up to the Abbey - it’s my favourite bookshop!

If you're thinking of the Abbey you'll need to pre-book a slot on the English Heritage website. It's still free if you are a member.

This is brilliant - thank you! Just had a look at the abbey website and it talks about booking tickets. Is this necessary or can you get a good view up there without going in?

There are loads of little boat trips to do as well. They take no more than 30 mins, generally less.

I’m in Whitby at the moment! You’re fine not going in to the abbey, it’s not that exciting inside and you still get a good look outside.

You can go to the abbey grounds without buying a ticket. We were in whitby on Tuesday & it was packed in the centre. West cliff & the pier weren’t too bad. We did some crabbing on the pier which was fun for the kids. Currently at sandsend beach freezing 🥶

You can get a good view down into the town without paying I would say. If you want to see the Abbey itself properly I'd book a slot

The abbey includes the old house too so it does take a chunk of time if you want to go round. Unless you are particularly interested I'd just look at the ruins from over the wall!

It also gives you a good view over the town and the coast from up there.