Gothic ruins
On the cliff.
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Whitby Abbey is a medieval ruined abbey on the East Cliff above the seaside town of Whitby in North Yorkshire, northeast England, overlooking the North Sea, about 66 km northeast of York in a straight line. It was founded in AD 657 by Oswy, King of Northumbria, as Streoneshalh, and later became a Benedictine abbey. Henry VIII closed it and seized its lands in the 16th century. Ever since, sailors have used its ruins as a landmark on the headland. The ruins are a Grade I listed building cared for by English Heritage, and a site museum is housed in the 17th-century Cholmley House. The towering Gothic walls of the abbey church, with empty pointed windows, stand alone on the clifftop, mirrored in a pond in front of them. Below, Whitby's red-roofed houses pile up around the harbour and the mouth of the River Esk. Visitors climb up from the old town by the famous 199 steps, or drive to the car park at the top. The ruins inspired part of Bram Stoker's novel «Dracula», and the town is known for its fish and chips.
On the cliff.
From the old town.
Red roofs.
East Cliff, Whitby, North Yorkshire, England
By the steps from town or by car.
Fish and chips.