Girovaga

7 May 2026.

The first sign that something was up in Whitby appeared when we changed trains in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire. Half-a-dozen young people dressed in black, Victorian-inspired attire looked out-of-place among the travelers in casual Saturday clothes, taking their dogs to walk the paths of the Esk River Valley. Of course, Whitby, with its abbey ruins, evocative atmosphere, and local stories, was Bram Stoker’s inspiration for his famous work, “Dracula” when he visited here in 1890.

Today, Whitby, a British seaside resort town on the edge of the North York Moors National Park, hosts twice-a-year Goth Weekends, and the faithful flock here dressed to kill. Arriving at the station we found hundreds of Goth-dressed observers here to honor the legend. 80-year-olds in expensive, custom apparel rub shoulders with families with young children in suitable garb and teenagers in thrift store castoffs and elaborate makeup. Luckily, the weather on Saturday was perfect for promenading through town and making the pilgrimage trek up the 199 steps to the abbey.

View of the Whitby Abbey ruins with brooding St. Mary’s Church in front. Note the long — 199 steps — staircase. Yup, we climbed it with our rubbery, flatlander live-in-a-house-without-stairs knees.

The steps would have to wait. We had only just arrived by the scenic train through the Esk River Valley. It was a long and eventful travel day: London to York by lovely first-class train with a stressful change to a bus from York to Middlesbrough. The train was late and the planned bus left five minutes before we arrived at the stop, which was a quarter mile trudge with luggage from the train station. Our connection in Middlesbrough threatened to become a four-hour delay but the train service LNER fortuitously added an extra bus as it was a heavy travel day in a Bank holiday weekend. All of England was on the move!

A two-plus hour bus ride is not a choice we make if it is possible to avoid. Work on the rail line to Whitby caused the routing. Availing ourselves of seats at the front of the bus and had a splendid view of little villages and quaint farms, and the unintelligible commentary of the driver. Overall, it was not bad. The subsequent train ride to Whitby was delightful! Bouncing new lambs in verdant fields; hedgerows and dry-stone walls criss-crossing the countryside; canary-yellow fields of rapeseed; walkers and their dogs enthusiastically boarding the train after their treks.

We are passing a week in Whitby. There is ancient history here: the original abbey was founded as a monastery in the 7th century. The Vikings destroyed it, but the Benedictines resurrected the site as an abbey in 1078, after the Norman Conquest. We can thank Henry VIII for destroying the abbey during his war on Catholicism creating picturesque ruins. Most infamously, the abbey was Bram Stoker’s vision for his novel.

What Bram Stoker saw, more-or-less, from his perch on the bluff. Today, a caravan park nudges up against it on the other side and The Cleveland Way passes directly by.

It’s chilly this week, but the rain has held off at least while we are walking. The extensive 109-mile Cleveland Way runs through this area, where we are walking daily in the North York Moors National Park including short coastal sections of the Cleveland Way. Very scenic, hugging the cliffs above rocky beaches and steep headlands, sometimes quite windy.

We’ve had a couple of “path to lunch” outings, with a charming pub awaiting mid-walk.

A random selection of photos from the week so far. Please click on a photo for a brief caption, if interested.

Sadly, the North York Moors Railway is not running to Whitby due to the same works on the line that plagued our arrival.

Our apartment for the week meets all our criteria: ground floor, washing machine, walk-in shower, full kitchen, and a coffee-pod machine. We no longer stay where we lug suitcases up stairs or climb over steep-sided British tubs to use the shower. If I am going to injure myself, I will do it outdoors, not in the shower.

We have not heard one word of American-accented English, and only once a couple speaking anything other than English. Most of our fellow travelers are from the UK, it seems.

From here, we head to Northumberland and the town of Berwick-on-Tweed. More from there soon!

Tags: Cleveland Way, England, North York Moors, Whitby