Day 8 in Whitby - After a latish breakfast, we set off for a bus tour of the city. Whitby became more than a sea town when railroad baron, George Stephenson, opened a horse-drawn rail line from Whitby to Pickering in 1836. There are many fine old buildings including a Royal Crescent that Stephenson planned to mimic and rival that of Bath.

Certainly one of the main highlights of Whitby is Whitby Abbey, or the remains of it. The ruins are a Heritage Site and are striking. Here are some pictures -

These ruins date from the 13th century and are on the site of the first abbey founded by St. Hilda in the 7th century. That abbey was destroyed by invading Vikings in the 9th century.

When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, the Abbey land was sold to his friend Richard Cholmley who used stones from the Abbey buildings to build his house (now the visitor's center) -

St. Mary the Virgin of Whitby is just below on the same hill. It was built in the 12th century to provide a place of worship for the lay people who worked at the abbey. Here is the three-decker pulpit -

And an altar guild member polishing the brass eagle -

Later on our bus tour, we visited the replica of Captain Cook's ship, the Endeavor -

Tomorrow our hike begins with the 199 steps up to the Abbey. We have enjoyed our day of rest!