Jollies, Day 1: Whitby

Last week we set off on our jolly holidays to Whitby. As always, we packed so much in that I'm going to spread the tale over four posts to match the four days of our break.

It was our first ever visit to the east coast and our first holiday by the sea in several years. The drive over there took us through some stunning scenery on the North York Moors and I really should have stopped to take photos but the lure of the sea and the excitement of reaching our destination was just too much so we pressed on.

By the time we'd dropped off the car at the guest house and walked into town, it was mid-afternoon. First stop was a cafe for a much-needed sandwich and cup of tea. Then we continued on down towards the harbour. The sound of the seagulls made my stomach flutter with the excitement I always get when I'm about to have my first glimpse of the sea.

And then there it was! Well, actually this part is the River Esk but it was still thrilling and I loved seeing all the boats and lobster pots.

As we walked along the harbour, there were lovely views of St Mary's Church, high up on East Cliff, with the old cottages below.

We walked all the way up to the end of the harbour and onto the west pier to look at the two lighthouses which stand on either side of the entrance. We stood for a while just breathing in the sea air.

The noise of the crashing of the waves as the tide surged in was incredible and so exhilarating.

Yet, on the other side of the pier, the water was still and calm. The ship is the Bark Endeavour and is a scaled-down replica of HMS Endeavour which was sailed by Captain James Cook during the 1700s. In the background at the top of the hill, to the left, you can just see the Abbey.

After a walk around the streets to explore the shops, it was time for some light refreshment and a Two-for-One cocktail offer at one of the bars along the waterfront: a Bramble for me and a White Russian for Chickpea. Both of us are lightweights when it comes to alcohol so, sad to say, there was a fair amount of giggling and tipsyness after just one drink!

In need of fresh air to clear our heads, we headed over to East Cliff to explore the cobbled streets of the old town. I saw a few people taking pictures of this sign - I wonder why!

And I thought this 'shutter' was really pretty. There were lots of little details like this around which was heaven for me because I adore nautical things and particularly anything made of clapboard. Which is weird because I'm incredibly sea sick but love everything inspired by it!

Further up were these pretty cottages but I noticed that most of the cottages in this area seemed to be holiday lets. Sad really but I guess most people prefer to live in the newer areas which are more practical and have easy parking. The latter is one of the reasons we chose the guest house rather than stay in the centre of town.

Fortunes on Henrietta Street have been making and selling smoked kippers in this small shop for over 140 years. Whitby kippers are a real delicacy and I've seen this building a couple of times on TV food shows.  I didn't eat any kippers while we were actually staying in Whitby as they weren't on offer in the guest house but I did manage to have some for breakfast at our next hotel. I knew I'd like them because I love smoked fish like mackerel and, yes, they were delicious.

At the end of the road you look down onto the piers and the breakwaters. Despite the heavy looking skies in most of the photos, we were really lucky and it stayed dry the whole day.

Finally, tired and hungry, and to end a lovely day, we ate Italian at Casa Nostra. Yes, it probably should have been fish & chips but that's for another day...x