Whitby Abbey

Great place to visit and spend the day. Also get some great views from the abbey of the beach, sea and harbour.

As previous reviewers have mentioned, the price is a bit steep to get into the Abbey, although I strongly recommend if you are a resident or plan to be in the UK for a certain period of time to invest in a pass (English Heritage, Historic Scotland, Explorer’s pass and numerous other depending on what you want to see) as they do pay off, if you are like me a bit of a geek for history.
The Abbey sits in a brilliant location and can be seen from distance. In a way you can imagine how majestic it must have been in it’s hay day, glimmering from a distance. Now, a skeleton of it’s past you can wonder around the ruins and take in the great views. We did not have time to get an audio guide, but I do recommend one (they are free we were in a rush so just whizzed around), as they can be a lot more informative than any of the boards on the ground. The museum is also quite sweet and quite interactive, so great for kids as well.

Shame dracula display is only on
at weekends. Still a lovely sunny day don’t forget the portable speaker for audio description

I‘ve been to Whitby a few times and love it the first time there was a viking expediton on and it was so cool you could try the old tools, wepons and food and the mead was so tasty :) everyone was in costume and in character i havent seen it since though shame. the fish and chips in town rock and the shops 2, the dracula experiance is a must for any goths and horror fans out there and every year there is awesome goth festival olus you can ride on the trams, build sandcastles on the beach or take the river cruise a fun day out for all.

Stunning Abbey ruins at the top of Whitby overlooking the bay, sea and hills, would highly recommend if you’re visiting the area. There is a car park at the side of the abbey where you are more likely to find a space if Whitby is really busy. You can always walk down the 199 steps to Whitby and walk off your fish or scampi and chips when you go back up them to the top which is what we did. There’s a lovely reasonably priced café next door in the youth hostel and a gift shop. I thought it was reasonably priced for a family ticket and got some beautiful pics :)

As I was walking around the abbey I was very sad that me being an American would never be able to see things like this on my home turf. The price is a bit steep 6 quid to walk the grounds but the views are very much so worth it and the walk around was very relaxing. I will agree with Christopher and say the front door was a bit confusing to find at first but once you get into you will lose yourself in the views. It towers over Whitby bay and you can see for miles on a clear day. I didnt opt for the headphones that told you the history of the abbey for the lack of time we had, they close at six and we showed up at half past 5 so it was proper quick but worth it if your into history and just want a good walk around some impressive grounds. I feel like a broken record with talking about the views but trust me if it a sunny day you will rave about them too.
*Top Tip
If you take the 199 steps two at a time its not as hard on your legs.

The ruins of this great Abbey, and with the sun, which we had. Made the Abbey shine you could see all the different colour of stone. It was the only reason to go to Whitby, which is usually very cold and cloudy. The only problem we had was finding the front door. Other than that, worth the drive…

«Her heart pounded, she could sence a mysterious person or body lurking in the dense mist in the graveyard near Whitby Abbey although she could not see them or it…»
How our mind plays tricks on us when we visit Whitby Abbey in the evening just as the sun is setting. It must be due to the numerous tales we’ve heard of the Prince of Darkness… Count Dracula.
But have no fear for he is not here. Only a large stone ruined Abbey you will find overlooking the former whaling port of Whitby and the North Sea.
A calm resting place, a place to relax or explore the ruin.

It’s a long way up (199 steps!) although you can get a tour bus or park your car at the top instead of walking. Even though Whitby Abbey is ‘just ruins’ it has a majestic atmosphere around it and I just love walking around it, sitting peacefully or taking photos in the grounds. You can hire headsets which will give your a virtual tour so you can learn about the history of the Abbey which is very interesting.

The abbey ruins are very impressive. You can see them towering above Whitby but it’s really worth paying the entrance fee to see close up. Also inside the museum there are some nice interactive exhibits of ancient artifacts. (I imagine children would be entertained by this, but we just made a bee line outside to wander around the abbey.)

Don’t climb the stepsunless you’re really fit because there is a car park right at the side of the abbey. It’s quite expensive to go in but you do get an audio commentry to take round with you. It’s a beautiful ruin and the views are quite spectacular. There is a visitor centre which is a bit of a let down and usually full of school parties and there’s a gift shop which a large variety of nik naks for sale. Outside the visitor centre is a lovely little tea room with a good selection of cakes, meals and drinks. Leaving the site you enter the graveyard of St Hildas church which also brings you to the top of the 199 steps. Once you purchase your ticket to the abbey it lasts all day so you can come and go as you please.

The one thing that defines Whitby is the Abbey. Painted and photographed over the centuries. Written about in fact and fiction and by poets. It dominates the skyline.
High on a cliff above the Yorkshire seaside town of Whitby are the gaunt, imposing remains of Whitby Abbey. Founded in 657 by St Hilda, Whitby Abbey has over the years been a bustling settlement, a kings’ burial place, the setting for a historic meeting between Celtic and Roman clerics, the home
of saints including the poet Caedmon, and inspiration for Bram Stoker, author of Dracula. Over 2,000 years of history make the Abbey one of England’s most important archaeological sites. At the interactive visitor centre you can view archaeological finds and audio-​visual displays. I missed out on being at this last dig etc with moving.
It was founded in 657 AD by the Saxon King of Northumbria, Oswy (Oswiu) as Streanshalh (Streonshalh). He appointed Lady Hilda, niece of Edwin, the first christian king of Northumbria, as Abbess. St Hild was a Saxon princess — daughter of Prince Hereric and sister-​in-​law to Aethelhere,
King of East Anglia — and she seems to have been a remarkable character.
She was born in 614, and baptized by the missionary Paulinus, but lived a secular life for 33 years before she felt called upon to renounce the world and become an abbess, first at the monastery of Hartleypool, and later at Whitby. The Venerable Bede, the famous 8^th-​century monk who wrote The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, notes that, she taught the observance of righteousness, mercy, purity and other virtues, but especially of peace and charity.
When Abbess Hild died in 680, a nun in the monastery of Hackness, thirteen miles away, was said to have had a vision of her being carried aloft by angels. Bede maintains that a messenger who was sent from Whitby with the sorry news was shocked and confused to find the monks and nuns at Hackness already mourning her passing.
After her death, Hild was granted sainthood. Her relics, along with those of King Oswy and King Edwin, attracted many pilgrims, and the financial donations these pilgrims brought to the abbey were used to fund further building work.
The double monastery of Benedictine monks and nuns was also home to the great Saxon poet Caedmon. In 664, the abbey, built on the east cliff overlooking the Esk and town of Whitby, was the site of the Synod of Whitby, at which the Northumbrian Celtic church was reconciled to Rome.
In 867, the abbey fell to Viking attack, and was abandoned until 1078, when it was re-​founded by Regenfrith (Reinferd) a soldier monk, under the orders of his protector, the Norman, William de Percy.
On the 14^th December, 1539 William Davell, the last abbot of Whitby, gave the abbey to Henry VIII’s commissioners under the Dissolution of the Monasteries Act
This second monastery lasted until it was destroyed by Henry VIII in 1540.
The abbey buildings fell into ruins, and were mined for stone, but remained a prominent landmark for sailors.
It was called Streoneshalh (the historical name of the town Whitby where the abbey is located).
There are two ways to approach the Abbey: from the car park to the south, or from Whitby town itself via 199 winding (and rather steep!) stone steps.
The steps are best!
Following the path from the car park though you’ll pass by the Abbey Pond.
In the Middle Ages the interior of the choir would have been richly painted
and the windows glazed with colored glass. According to John Leland, a 16^th-​century recorder, one of the stained-​glass windows here showed William the Conqueror punishing the Scots for indulging in a dubious habit — they were believed to be cannibals! The elaborate stone carving on the walls is all that remains of that rich pictorial history now, but it is still possible to imagine what a glorious sight this building must have been in its heyday.
Much of it collapsed in the late 1700s, and in 1914 it suffered further damage when a raiding force of German Navy ships shelled Whitby. There was outrage throughout Britain at the time because of this needless attack on a
civilian target.
Near the nave you can find several tombstones. These were excavated in the 1920s, and some of them are ancient indeed. They date back to Anglo-​Saxon times, and are remnants of the first abbey that was erected on this site,
A bit more history:
Around 1070 a Norman soldier called Reinfrid stopped at Whitby and saw the architectural remains of the previous buildings. Some years later, having taken holy vows and became a Benedictine monk, he returned to Whitby with a
group of followers and set about re-​establishing the monastic community.
Reinfrid was subsequently killed in an unfortunate accident whilst helping workmen build a bridge sometime around 1087.
By the year 1220, Whitby Abbey had become one of the wealthiest monasteries in the country, housing dozens of monks. Much of its wealth vanished over the next few

Park in the adjoining car park, it’s a long way up all the steps from the village! The views are stunning, it’s such a serene place. Well worth a visit.