The History of Whitby Harbour, and exactly what to expect on a trip to Whitby Harbour Nowadays.

Whitby is a natural harbour on the North Yorkshire Coast, having been a place of refuge for passing ships for many 100's of years. Possibly as early as Roman times (there is evidence of a Roman lighthouse on the East Side cliff top) the port of Whitby has been host to a wide variety of ships from merchants to whalers and even invaders!

Captain James Cook is certainly Whitby's most well-known maritime connectio
After an apprenticeship in Whitby, Cook left to join the Royal Navy, and embarked on his well known career. The boat Endeavour, in which he sailed whilst charting the coast of Australia, was infact a Whitby Cat (coal vessel).

Sir William Scoresby along with his son became famous Whaling Captains. Scorseby is well-known for inventing the Crow's Nest, which allowed better visibility of schools of Whales. Many other sailing vessels adopted the design for the job of both lookout for pirates and hazardous rocks. Today outside the Tourist Information Office, there is a structure of Crow's Nest dedicated to Sir William Scorseby.

The past few years has witnessed a decline in the amount of commercial trade carried out at Whitby Harbour. The unloading of cargo and storage at Dock End has all but stopped together with too that of the Custom men.

Today the harbour is still vibrant, but this is largely due to tourism. There are still a small number of boatbuilders and repairers, further upriver, and the small number of remaining full-time fishermen, who struggle to make a living with the current economic climate and legislation.

A colourful sight in the harbour these days, are the boat trips and pleasure trips to sea every day. The calls of the boatmen attracting attention to the different boats available, the shriek of the seagulls swooping over the harbour looking for titbits and leftovers left by the visitors and the steady hum of engines beating like hearts in the engine holds, ensure that Whitby Harbour is still alive and continues to provide both income and pleasure to the townsfolk and the ever increasing tourists.

There are many different boat trips to choose from. These include the Mary Anne Hepworth, Whitby's old lifeboat and a mini replica of Captain Cooks Endeavor! There are bigger craft that take lengthier excursions, including sunset cruises and whale watching trips.