The fossil hunters

England - Coastal North Yorkshire (Sandsend to Ravenscar but mainly Whitby)


Folder: Yorkshire
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Borough of Scarborough and English county of North Yorkshire. It is located within the historic boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has an established maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Cliff is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey, where Cædmon, …  (read more)

The fossil hunters

10 Jul 2021 38 38 235
On Whitby Scar below the Abby Headland Whitby is on a coastal stretch known as the 'Dinosaur Coast' or the 'Fossil Coast', the area is around 35 miles (56 km) long and stretches from Staithes in the north and south to Flamborough. At Whitby dinosaur footprints are visible on the beach. The rock strata contain fossils and organic remains including jet. Fossils include the petrified bones of an almost complete crocodile and a specimen of plesiosaurus measuring 15 feet 6 inches (4.72 m) in length, and 8 feet 5 inches (2.57 m) in breadth was discovered in 1841. Smaller fossils include numerous species of ammonites, or "snake stones", from the Whitby Mudstone Formation (Alum Shale Member) and at Whitby Scar nautiloids in the lower beds of the lias strata. The town's "snakestones" folklore (similar to Keynsham's in Somerset) has it that fossils were once living serpents that were common in the area. This was until the 7th century AD when Anglo-Saxon Abbess St Hilda of Whitby (614–680), first had to rid the region of snakes. She did so by casting a spell that turned them to stone and then threw them from the cliff tops.

Whitby Harbour and Tate Hill beach at low tide

10 Jul 2021 19 18 168
Tate Hill is a small, sandy beach located on the eastern side of the harbour.

Daffodils with a sea view

Not to be trusted (HFF Everyone)

02 Apr 2017 43 71 177
HFF 2/4/2021 Cliff height at this point - 510 ft/155 mtrs The view is from Ravenscar to the north over Robin Hood's Bay, with the village of Bay Town (local name) just visible beyond the 'fence'. The flat area of rock, below right, is the home of a colony of seals.

Waiting for Summer Visitors (HBM Everyone!)

20 Feb 2017 26 26 156
Whitby - North Yorkshire

A Walk on the Beach

30 Mar 2017 42 34 262
Whitby - North Yorkshire

Beach Walkers

20 Feb 2017 23 24 221
Sandsend is a small fishing village, about 3 km northwest of Whitby in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. Sandsend and the neighbouring village of East Row began as separate villages, but were joined when extra cottages were built for workers in the alum industry. Sandsend was also buoyed by tourism from the Whitby, Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway, which ran through the village from 1855 to 1958. The local station was Sandsend railway station, which opened in 1883 and also closed in 1958. Two becks (streams) empty into the North Sea at Sandsend; Sandsend Beck and East Row Beck.

Clifftop Cleveland Way at Staintondale (HFF everyo…

02 Apr 2017 47 76 408
The Cleveland Way is a National Trail in ancient Cleveland in northern England. It runs 110 miles (177 km) between Helmsley and the Brigg at Filey, skirting the North York Moors National Park. Development of the Cleveland Way began in the 1930s when the Teesside Ramblers' Association pressed for the creation of a long distance path in the north-east of Yorkshire linking the Hambleton Drove Road, the Cleveland escarpment and footpaths on the Yorkshire coast. Subsequently, in 1953, a formal proposal to create the route was submitted to the North Riding of Yorkshire Council by the National Parks Commission. The trail was officially opened in 1969. It was the second official National Trail to be opened.

Daffodil Fence, Whitby (HFF everyone)

Whitby Abbey Church - Eastern wall of the Presbyte…

20 Jun 2019 35 33 401
(1 x PiP - showing the interior from the western (Nave) end of the building) The ruins of Whitby Abbey that can be seen today date from the 13th century onwards. The first Benidictine church on the headland was a smaller, but still impressive, stone building in the Romanesque style, probably begun in abut 1109. The Romanesque church stood until the 13th century, when abbots, priors and bishops all over England were launching ambitious projects to rebuild what, in most cases, were already large and impressive churches. It seems likely that a spirit of competition mingled with a wish to demonstrate their devotion to God. Dedicated to St. Peter and St. Hild, Whitby Abbey Church is more than 90 metres long - the size of a small cathedral (Ripon Cathedral is about the same length). The abbey church was not built to serve the local community.

Saltwick Nab (Remains of Alum Quarry)

20 Jun 2019 28 27 314
Saltwick Nab, part of Saltwick Bay, is approximately one mile (1.6 km) to the east of Whitby, on the east coast of North Yorkshire, England The first record of quarrying of alum at Saltwick Nab was recorded by Sir Hugh Chomley, who lived at Whitby Abbey, in the 17th century. The alum quarries were built on promontories and were 590 feet (180 m) in length and 115 feet (35 m) in depth. The quarries eventually closed in 1791. The features seen today on the nab are as a result of quarrying, not natural erosion by wind and water. Alum is a chemical used principally in the textile industry for fixing dyes. It is not found in a natural state in Britain but can be manufactured from some types of shale. During the medieval period in Britain alum was imported, mostly from Italy. Domestic production began in the north of England in the early 17th century. The industry flourished in the north for 200 years until the mid-19th century when it was overtaken by new techniques using shale from coal mining, whilst after 1880 aluminium sulphate replaced alum for most industrial purposes. Saltwick Nab alum quarries are listed under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979. The site at Saltwick Nab preserves important evidence of the quarrying and processing activities. In addition to the 19th century workings, remains of the early industry and its development are preserved.

Whitby Abbey Headland from the clifftop path (HFF…

20 Jun 2019 44 55 497
HFF 12/7/2019 (1 xPiP) Taken from the clifftop path (part of the *Cleaveland Way) The *Cleveland Way is a National Trail in ancient Cleveland in northern England. It runs 110 miles (177 km) between Helmsley and the Brigg at Filey, skirting the North York Moors National Park. The trail can be walked in either direction linking the trailheads of Helmsley and Filey in a horseshoe configuration. The trail is waymarked along its length using the standard National Trail acorn symbol. The trail falls into two roughly equal sections. The inland section leads west from Helmsley, then north, then east around the west of the North York Moors National Park. It then leaves the National Park near Guisborough to meet the coast at Saltburn. It re-enters the National Park just north of Staithes; the coastal section follows the coast from Saltburn to Whitby, then leaves the National Park for the final time at Cloughton Wyke to reach Scarborough and Filey.

The Church of Staint Mary - Whitby

20 Jun 2019 23 18 343
The Church of Saint Mary is an Anglican parish church serving the town of Whitby in North Yorkshire England. It was founded around 1110, although its interior dates chiefly from the late 18th century. The church was designated a Grade I listed building on 23 February 1954. It is situated on the town's east cliff, overlooking the mouth of the River Esk overlooking the town, close to the ruins of Whitby Abbey (see below). Church Steps, a flight of 199 steps lead up the hill to the church from the streets below. The church graveyard is used as a setting in Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula. Church of St. Mary and Whitby Abbey Ruin A Norman church was built on the site around 1110 and added to and altered over the centuries. The tower and transepts are from the 12th and 13th centuries. The tower is square and crenellated, as are the walls. One of the oldest parts of the church is the quire which has three round-headed windows at its east end. Its side walls originally had three bays with similar windows but have been altered. It has three aumbries, one with a small piscina. The nave has five bays and is contemporary with the quire, its south wall is much altered but three external buttresses remain. When the church was enlarged in 1818 most of the north wall was removed and replaced by columns to accommodate an aisle, four large square-headed windows were inserted on the south side, the south porch was built in 1823 and a north porch built in the new annexe. The ceilings over the nave are boarded with several skylights. The transept was built in the 13th century and has three altered lancet windows in its northern arm while its southern arm is considerably changed and its windows all replaced. The three-stage west tower has a squat appearance, its corners supported by flat buttresses and its embattled parapet is a 16th-century addition. Of its ring of eight bells, six are inscribed, "Whitby 1762 Lester and Pack of London fecit" and two were added in 1897.

A few of the 199 (HFF Everyone)

20 Jun 2019 35 49 360
One of the most famous landmarks in Whitby are the 199 steps that lead up from the Harbour area to St Mary’s church, also know as the ‘Church Steps’. The first record of the steps was in 1340, though it is believed the steps were made a long time before this, as some historians believe that St Hilda would use the steps to test the faith of her followers (climbing up the steps would prove your faith, a simple task these days). The steps were originally made of wood and stood for hundreds of years that way until 1774 when the steps were replaced with stone. There has been many years of dispute as to how many steps there are, some believe there are 198, and others believe 200 (depending on how you count the steps). Before the 19th century, when St Mary’s was still open for burials, many people preferred to be carried up the steps, rather than giving their relatives a more easy journey and having their bodies carried in a horse and carriage along a lane leading to the church. It must have been extremely tiring carrying a body up 199 steps, so wooden planks were built in place to place the coffin on and give the pall-bearers a rest (they are now used as benches for the living to rest on).

Whitby Poppy (Iceland Poppy)

20 Jun 2019 23 21 374
Found in the graveyard of The Church of St. Mary - Whitby

Coastal Patrol

20 Jun 2019 21 18 266
doug_shepherd@btinternet.com

Whitby Harbour Pier Extensions

20 Jun 2019 16 13 392
Taken from the clifftop path (part of the *Cleaveland Way) on the Whitby Abbey Headland. The *Cleveland Way is a National Trail in ancient Cleveland in northern England. It runs 110 miles (177 km) between Helmsley and the Brigg at Filey, skirting the North York Moors National Park. The trail can be walked in either direction linking the trailheads of Helmsley and Filey in a horseshoe configuration. The trail is waymarked along its length using the standard National Trail acorn symbol. The trail falls into two roughly equal sections. The inland section leads west from Helmsley, then north, then east around the west of the North York Moors National Park. It then leaves the National Park near Guisborough to meet the coast at Saltburn. It re-enters the National Park just north of Staithes; the coastal section follows the coast from Saltburn to Whitby, then leaves the National Park for the final time at Cloughton Wyke to reach Scarborough and Filey.

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