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It’s official – Whitby is Britain’s best seaside resort

Holiday Which? has voted Whitby “Britain’s best seaside resort”

Read what the papers have to say about it below

Boatyard, Quayside, Cuddy and Seagull cottages are all on or off of Church street (which runs alongside the river Esk) and are all grouped in the centre of the cottages in the first picture above. Whitehall Apartment is in the area of the second picture right next to the river.

Vampires and chips make Whitby best resort

By Paul Stokes Telegraph.co.uk (Filed: 09/05/2006)

The charms of Whitby were recognised by Captain Cook when he set sail on hisIMG_0626 voyages of discovery and by Bram Stoker as he embarked on his Victorian Gothic horror novel, Dracula.But its appeal has now been noted by the authors of the consumer magazine Holiday Which?, after it was voted Britain’s top seaside resort.The small Yorkshire port is described as having everything you could want, from a postcard-perfect harbour to the sweep of Whitby Sands where children can excavate under the gaze of Cook’s monument.With a population of 14,500, Whitby attracts some 550,000 visitors a year and around a fifth of residents are employed in the tourist industry.Locals, though unsurprised by the accolade, were still delighted yesterday to learn that it had come first in the top 10 resorts after Holiday Which? “combed these shores from St Ives to the Firth of Clyde”.Goths flock to Whitby for festivals, as do folk musicians, and the Magpie Cafe in the harbour is regarded by Rick Stein, the celebrity chef, as serving the best fish and chips in the world.Ian Robson, the cafe’s owner, was officially warned last year after lengthy queues outside obscured other traders’ frontages.

The other resorts in the list were: Wells-Next-The-Sea, Norfolk; Frinton-on-Sea, Essex; Swanage, Dorset; Sidmouth, Devon; St Ives, Cornwall; Tenby, south Wales, Abersoch, north Wales; Rothesay, Isle of Bute and Portrush, Northern Ireland

Which? hails Whitby, the resort ‘with everything’

Mark Branagan YorkshirePosttoday 10th May 2006
A seaside town which was once one of Britain’s worst unemployment IMG_1151blackspots has come first in a national survey of British resorts.
During the 1990s the fortunes of Captain Cook’s old port of Whitby had sunk to an all-time low with the worst jobless figures in North Yorkshire. But the port’s economy has been regenerated by millions of pounds following visits by the Australian replica of Cook’s ship Endeavour.
It is bidding for World Heritage status as the home of Grade I listed Whitby Abbey, and at the other end of the scale it has prospered from its Dracula connection – Bram Stoker was inspired to write the spinechiller in Whitby and set an early chapter in the port.
Now Whitby has come number one in a poll of seaside destinations by Holiday Which? – part of the Which? network, formerly the Consumers’ Association – which says UK coastal resorts have come a long way in terms of the quality of their facilities and the cleanliness of their waters.
Combing the shores from St Ives to the Firth of Clyde to select the 10 best, they decided Whitby was “a historic port with every-thing you could possibly want from a seaside resort”.
“Captain Cook set sail from Whitby on his way to the Pacific and, in Bram Stoker’s novel, Count Dracula leapt ashore here from the ghost ship Demeter in the form of an immense dog,” Holiday Which? says.
“Without pausing, the undead aristo skedaddled up the 199 steps to St Mary’s church graveyard, and so missed the chance to sink his fangs into some of the finest fish and chips in the UK at the Magpie Café.
“Whitby is a town of two halves, its postcard-perfect harbour split by the River Esk. Beneath the jagged ruins of the seventh century abbey on the east side, the old town is a gem of cobbled ginnels where pasty-faced Goths browse jet jewellery in Georgian shops.”
The researchers say the study underlines a huge change in the quality of our coastal resorts in recent years – even though many are still “stuck in the dol-drums of aging infrastructure, tacky amusements and uninspiring B&Bs”.
One of the biggest improve-ments is in bathing water quality with most beaches in the recommended section boasting Blue Flag awards.
“Thankfully, pumping effluent into the water in which we swim is no longer as traditional as Punch and Judy,” Holiday Which? adds.
With a population of 14,500, Whitby attracts about 550,000 visitors a year and about one-fifth of residents are employed in the tourist industry.
Also listed are: Wells-Next-The-Sea, Norfolk; Frinton-on-Sea, Essex; Swanage, Dorset; Sidmouth, Devon; St Ives, Cornwall; Tenby, south Wales; Abersoch, north Wales; Rothesay, Isle of Bute; and Portrush, Northern Ireland.

We do like to be beside Whitby

Daily Mail Reporter 07:36am 9th May 2006

A picture postcard harbour and two miles of unbroken beach have helped Whitby win the title of Britain’s best seaside resort.
The historic port – famous for inspiring Bram Stoker’s Dracula and the place where Captain Cook set sail – has ‘everything you could possibly want’, according to judges from Holiday Which?
Beyond the chip shops, candyfloss and games arcades on the quayside, children can enjoy donkey rides or run riot on the glorious sweep of Whitby Sands.
From high on the grassy cliffs, day trippers are overlooked by the monument to Captain James Cook, who sailed to explore the world in ships built in Whitby.
Stoker wrote his classic horror story, published in 1897, beneath the shadow of the North Yorkshire resort’s ruined Abbey. Modern-day visitors enjoy the port’s highly rated restaurants including Trenchers and the Magpie Cafe, which has been named the world’s best fish and chip shop in countless competitions.
Whitby beat off stiff competition from runner-up Wells-next-the-Sea on the Norfolk coast Its ‘wide open skies, salt marshes and miles of golden sand’ impressed researchers. Frinton-on-Sea, Essex, came third for the traditional ‘back to the Fifties’ values of this ‘low-key time-warp resort’.
Next was Swanage in Dorset – ‘laid-back with a lovely gently shelving beach and stunning coastal walks’.
Lorna Cowan, editor of Holiday Which?, said seaside resorts had improved, but not everywhere.
“For every resort with funky bars, trendy restaurants and boutique hotels, there’s another stuck in the doldrums of ageing infrastructure, tacky amusements and uninspiring B and Bs,” she said. Fifth place went to Sidmouth, Devon, described as ‘an elegant Regency town flanked by glorious coastal cliff scenery’.
Sixth was St Ives, Cornwall, with its ‘necklace of heavenly beaches perfect for surfers’ and arty side.
Tenby, South Wales, was seventh for its ‘medieval town centre and three gorgeous beaches’, followed by Abersoch in North Wales.
This resort is ‘great for a life on the ocean waves with amazing beaches and great walks’. Ninth-placed Rothesay on the Isle of Bute is a ‘splendid Victorian island resort’.
Portrush in Northern Ireland made the top ten for its ‘safe bathing, clean white sand, traditional funfair and stylish dining’.

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