Whitby - what to see and do

[DottyDot]

Ds's (10 and 8) have got 2 inset days together in July and I'm wondering about spending a few days in Whitby - we've not been before but the boys love beaches and we're in the North West so it wouldn't be too tricky to get to.

Any recommendations of places to stay/visit/things to do much appreciated!

Ooh can I gatecrash Dotty? It's on my list for summer hols.

Sandsend beach is fantastic.

Robin hoods bay is great for rock pools but it's a very steep walk down

Go for fish and chips at trenchers rather than the magpie - better food, less cramped and nicer staff!

Look at Ingrid Flute for cottages.

Look for fossils on the beach.

Walk up the steps to the abbey then along the cliff to Robin Hood's Bay (take a picnic). Lovely cafe with homemade cakes in Robin Hood's bay.

Eat at Humble Pie - like eating in somebody's living room in 1940ish. Lose a pound's worth of tuppences in the shove a penny machines.

Eat fish and chips (every day!).

Oh and the abbey is great.

Don't know if your los are to old but a trip on Elizabeth the steam bus is fun

Sandsend beach is indeed lovely - but it was pissing down when we were there!

Avoid Marie Antoinette's cafe in Whitby unless you want a heart attack when you get the bill.

ooh - thanks all - lots to google! Definitely Sparkling - let me know if you find anywhere good and I'll do the same . I read something about ghost tours which might go down well - must find out.

I originally wanted to take the family abroad for a few days but can't find anywhere for under about £1,000 which is just ridiculous . Wanted some guaranteed sunshine but never mind - I think ds's think rain's part of any holiday anyway these days...

I also have Scarborough on my list Dotty. I am avoiding Devon and Cornwall and the awful M5 this year if I can.

Oooh Ghost Tours.

We played on the beach in the rain anyway! We went in April so some rain was to be expected!

Boat trips are good to and pretty cheap at about £3 each.

If your heading towards Scarborough then the sea life centre is good but I would only go if you find a discount voucher as personally I don't think it was worth the full price.

I would reccomend www.cross-butts.co.uk/ Just out of Whitby for a lovely family friendly restaurant.

Yep - dp doesn't like huge car journeys so we're keeping North this year - apart from an extended family holiday in Southwold in a few weeks' time - takes a million years to get there but it's my FIL's 70th birthday treat for the whole family so I'm not complaining..!

being a bit greedy really having another few days away but the 4 days in Whitby will be our only family holiday just the 4 of us this year .

ooh - apart from Carfest North in September!!!

Wow that looks lovely - wish we were staying there...!

Oh and you can go crabbing - we didn't actually see any crabs though so the fun soon dimmed!

Very tempted by this place and it's not all about the Playstation

I love Whitby

Don't really have anything to say that hasn't be suggested before - other than recommending you have a look round some of the lovely little jewellery shops selling Whitby Jet - you have to have a souvenir for you don't you

I also remember the fish & chips being lovely, and the DC loved the boat trips. Scarborough is also a lovely old fashioned sea side town. If I remember rightly it has a really steep tram ride down the cliffs which made the DC scream their heads off

The Whitby Wizard is very good for boys - you can easily spend an afternoon in there if weather less than brilliant.

The museum in Pannet Park also brill.

The beach is all you need if the weather is good

If the boys are good walkers you can walk to Robin Hood's Bay but there are some steep drops so need supervised.It's approx 6 miles-fantastic scenary

I love Artefacts...lovely shop for mum

The Captain Cook museum is also good

Mounterays is a great Italian if you want a break from fish and chips

Sandsend is walkable and nice .

Runswick Bay if you have a car is good for fossil hunting

If the boys are into books try reading 'The Whitby Witches' by Robin Jarvis to them before the trip then they can match up the locations....it's a great children's story.

I second Ingrid Flute for accomodation.

We love Whitby and always have a staycation week at some point in the year.

DD2 (who is generalyl a book refusenik) read The Whitby Witches series when we were there last year, because there were copies in the cottage we'd rented. She really enjoyed them but they are a bit scary, so not sure if the 8 year old would like them - would depend on the child, I guess.

And for yourself, read the series about Brenda who runs a B&B in Whitby but is actualy The Bride of Frankenstein - not v well written but great fun. Paul somebody - Paul Magrs or Mayers or something.

Scuse typos.

Oh and read Dracula of course. :)

Thanks Fantastic list building up - am getting excited now!

I really recommend staying at la rosa hotel, it is a lovely home-from-home with amazing views and there's a dressing up box in the family room!

We were there last year so may have changed but, if you park your car in a council pay & display the back of the ticket had discount for sea life centre.

Maybe someone else who's been recently can confirm.

It was the same when we were there in april

Marking my place - we are off to Whitby the last weekend in June.

Don't eat at Magpie it's very over rated. Try to avoid trenchers too as we went a few months ago and we were all very disappointed.

Sandsend is brilliant. The abbey is really really good and you can have a go at counting the steps.

You can also get the steam trains from Whitby.

Last month we went to trenchers 3 times and couldn't fault it!

Maybe they were having a bad day but when they have just 3 tables of people and it takes 25 minutes to take an order, 45 minutes for drinks to arrive and the vegetarian lasagne had 1 piece of pasta in its pretty crap.

Odd we had food within half an hour of arriving dispite us being a large party and them being packed. Ds had the children's lasagne and that was lovely because I finished it for him!