Whitby

A couple of Saturdays ago, we took a drive to the coastal town of Whitby. Whitby is located on the eastern shore of England, just north of Scarborough. Bram Stoker helped make this coastal town well-known by selecting it for the setting of his book, Dracula.

We couldn't have chosen a more perfect day to go to the seaside. The skies were clear and the sun was strong. We began our day at Whitby Abbey which is located on the cliffs overlooking the North Sea. Whitby Abbey was originally founded in 657 AD, attacked by Vikings in 867, rebuilt, and then later destroyed by Henry VIII in 1540. As you can see, the ruins that remain are very photogenic (as are my cute kids!).After a nice picnic lunch near the abbey, we took a stroll down to the village of Whitby. As you can imagine, being a coastal village, Whitby has a strong history in fishing, whaling, shipbuilding, etc. We headed straight to the beach, where the children enjoyed wading in the chilly North Sea.After the beach and some ice-cream, we spent some time window-shopping. We finished up our time with dinner at a restaurant that had been voted a favorite by the locals called Mister Chips. And what did we eat for dinner? Seafood chowder and fish-n-chips, of course! It was the freshest fish-n-chips we've had!

We left with the sun setting on the abbey. A beautiful day....