I’m not sure about a coffee but no trip to Whitby is complete without a popping in to the Magpie Cafe which is about half way along the road from the bridge over the river to the pier. The Magpie has a great reputation so expect to have to wait ant lunch time even in the winter in the summer it’s best to book if your in town for a few days. If you don’t think you can wait they also have traditional fish and chip takeaway next door.
The Magpie does make possibly the best fish and chips in the country, well I think so anyway. The fish is always really fresh as you would expect in a fishing port but the batter is amazing and really crispy. The portions are really generous too I never manage to finish mine.
They also do a real old fashioned cup of tea in a pot with a strainer none of your modern teabag gimmicks here.
Now is it milk first or second?
Whitby is a traditional fishing port on the the Yorkshire coast. But it’s probably most famous for two other things one is Capt James Cook who learnt his trade sailing from Whitby before joining the Royal Navy and his trip to the South Pacific and Australia. There is a museum on the south side of the river near the bridge.
The other is the old Benedictine monastery, Whitby Abbey, the ruins of which really dominate the town and are the setting for the Dracula novel. Bram Stoker who published the novel in 1897 was staying Whitby when he started writing it in 1890
You do need a good set of legs to visit it though as the are 199 steps from the town up to the top of the hill and Abbey and Bram was often seen climbing then to view the Abbey and old grave stones at the top for inspiration.
In the Summer the town really is Goth central and there are not one but two Goth Festivals featuring live music and other events every year usually in April and October. But you will see them wandering around the town almost any time of the year.
