Whitby Abbey is great because you can: See a place of saints and miracles Learn about this extraordinary headland Find out about the history and life at Whitby Abbey Visit our award winning Visitors' Centre Enjoy dramatic views of Whitby and the coastal landscape.
Set high on a headland, Whitby Abbey's gaunt and moving remains have associations as diverse as Victorian jewellery, whaling and Count Dracula. Those who choose to approach the Abbey – up the 199 steps from Whitby town – know the meaning of dedication!
Over the centuries the headland has been an inspiration to all sorts of people, for very different reasons. Anglo Saxon saints and kings are buried on it, medieval monks built their abbey here, the flamboyant Cholmley family came to own it, and two Victorians made it famous world wide. Bram Stoker with his Dracula, and Frank Meadow Sutcliffe with countless black and white photographs.
That's why the abbey ruin isn't the only remarkable feature in this landscape. In fact, there are three others. The parish church of Saint Mary's, the remains of the Cholmley house within the boundaries of the former abbey, and the ground beneath your feet. Even today, the headland continues to offer up its secrets to historians and archaeologists
