It’s not easy journeying to Whitby, so it’s important to make the most of your time here. On this guided walk, I'll introduce you to major local characters, engrossing legends and hidden treasures in this historic town, over a millennium in the making. Whether this is your first visit or your thirtieth, this tour is certain to make you look at Whitby in a new light. It also provides an ideal introduction to sites like the Whitby Abbey, the Captain Cook Memorial Museum and the Endeavour Experience, which you can return to at the end of the tour.

On this tour, you'll hear about:

• Some of the greatest voyages of exploration of all time
• Why people once thought the town was infested with serpents
• How Whitby jet, a gemstone, inspired the novel Dracula
• An illiterate poet
• Why there’s a polar bear in the town centre
• Why the houses with the best views were some of the cheapest
• The Hand of Glory and where to find it

This tour isn’t all about the past. I'll also tell you about Fortune's Kippers fish store, and where to find seaside fayre and the best strawberry tarts you'll ever encounter.

I grew up in Whitby and genuinely believe there is no place quite like it on earth. Growing up I split my time between studying hard and rowing for the Fisherlads Rowing Club - nothing has really changed. After school, I left the town to study at the University of Oxford and managed a couple of years in London where I worked in Westminster and studied for my MA in Philosophy. I returned home to pursue further study and established Whitby Town Walking Tours with my better half. It had been a longtime ambition of mine to operate a tour company and my inspiration probably came from the Only Fools and Horses' episode 'A Slow Bus to Chingford'. Unlike Derek Trotter, however, I aim to give you accurate and well-researched tours of Whitby. Whitby Town Walking Tours operate unique tours that focus on specific elements of Whitby, from the geology to art and literature. We operate most days during the summer season and you can find tour times on our website.