Whitby East Cliff

What do you think? Was it worth the climb?

Of course, you could always be lazy and drive up, but climbing is much more fun (and counting the steps as you climb is virtually compulsory!).

Alongside the harbour, you can see the long building where the catch is unloaded from the fishing vessels. All kinds of shell fish can be bought from the stands along the harbour's edge, as fresh from the sea as it is possible to buy. And they taste delicious!

Sailing boats line up along their own mooring and at the harbour's inland end, hovering over the new three storey apartment blocks, is the line of the railway which runs between Whitby and Grosmont along the Esk Valley. At Grosmont, it is possible to switch lines and ride the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, which steams between Grosmont and Pickering (but more about that later). I have ridden over this bridge and the sense of being elevated above the town and harbour is terrific (unless you don't care for edges).

And looking out to sea, the protective mouth of the harbour wall shows why Whitby is a safe port in a storm.