After our few days in Nott'm, we headed up to stay with some friends in Middlesborough and then to Whitby on my birthday. Now the weather at Whitby was pretty grim. It was on and off drizzling and a van went through a puddle, soaking my boyfriend -not ideal (I briefly mentioned in my Wales posts that he gets crabby in the rain, they just don't mix well). But despite this, we had a great day.
Whitby is one of my favourite places. I love the harbour, the cobblestone streets with wonky old buildings and alleyways with shops poked here and there. I love the fact that everyone up't Nor' is so friendly, and you can chat with anyone without having weird looks thrown your way.
We headed towards the Whitby abbey steps straight away. (Side note: wheelchairs and cobblestones do not mix well -they give you the worst back pain ever!). We actually picked up a bike lock in Nott'm for my wheelchair and used it a few times before abandoning my wheelchair at the bottom of the Whitby Abbey steps. I knew I wanted to give getting up the steps a pop, but I also knew I wouldn't be able to walk to them and then do the stairs, so using my wheelchair was necessary. Conveniently enough, the steps have benches to the side of them every 10 stairs or so: the perfect rest breaks to not only rest my legs but also check out the amazing view of the harbour town.
Once at the top, we went through the churchyard, taking in the ornate old tombstones and the view of the North Sea. We then headed on up to the Abbey, reading a little bit about the ruins before heading up to them.
Whitby Abbey is so pretty. It's the type of place you wander around while wondering how it would have looked centuries ago and what people would have thought about it back then. What's left of the abbey is essentially part of the shell of the original building. There are signs and illustrations showing what it may have looked like in the 13th Century, and they tell you quite a bit about how it would have been used too.
After a quick trip to the gift shop and a lot of spent pennies, we headed for some food and went to some shops before heading home. Whitby was an amazing day, and I'm so glad we got to go there on my actual birthday.
Cheerio for now!
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