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

Best enlarged Whitby town from the west pier extension

Best enlarged View to the north over Robin Hood's Bay from Old Peak (South Cheek) looking north towards Ness Point (North Cheek)

Best Enlarged Spring view to the north over Robin Hood's Bay from the clifftop at Old Peak (South Cheek) towards Ness Point (North Cheek)

Best enlarged Robin Hood’s Bay is a small fishing village and a bay located within the North York Moors National Park, five miles south of Whitby and 15 miles north of Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire, England. Bay Town, its local name, is in the ancient chapelry of Fylingdales in the wapentake of Whitby The origin of the name is uncertain, and it is doubtful if Robin Hood was ever in the vicinity. An English ballad and legend tell a story of Robin Hood encountering French pirates who came to pillage the fisherman's boats and the northeast coast. The pirates surrendered and Robin Hood returned the loot to the poor people in the village that is now called Robin Hood's Bay. By about 1000 the neighbouring hamlet of Raw and village of Thorpe (Fylingthorpe) in Fylingdales had been settled by Norwegians and Danes. After the Norman Conquest in 1069 much land in the North of England, including Fylingdales, was laid waste. William the Conqueror gave Fylingdales to Tancred the Fleming who later sold it to the Abbot of Whitby. The settlements were about a mile inland at Raw but by about 1500 a settlement had grown up on the coast. In the period 1324-1346 there was an early reference to Robin Hood's Bay. Louis I, Count of Flanders, wrote a letter to King Edward III in which he complained that Flemish fishermen together with their boats and catches were taken by force to Robin Hood's Bay. In the 16th century Robin Hood's Bay was a more important port than Whitby, it is described by a tiny picture of tall houses and an anchor on old North Sea charts published by Waghenaer in 1586 and now in Rotterdam's Maritime Museum. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1540, Whitby Abbey and its lands became the property of King Henry VIII with King Street and King’s Beck dating from this time. The town, which consists of a maze of tiny streets, has a tradition of smuggling, and there is reputed to be a network of subterranean passageways linking the houses. During the late 18th century smuggling was rife on the Yorkshire coast. Vessels from the continent brought contraband which was distributed by contacts on land and the operations were financed by syndicates who made profits without the risks taken by the seamen and the villagers. Tea, gin, rum, brandy and tobacco were among the contraband smuggled into Yorkshire from the Netherlands and France to avoid the duty. In 1773 two excise cutters, the Mermaid and the Eagle, were outgunned and chased out of the bay by three smuggling vessels, a schooner and two shallops] A pitched battle between smugglers and excise men took place in the dock over 200 casks of brandy and geneva (gin) and 15 bags of tea in 1779. Fishing and farming were the original occupations followed by generations of Bay folk. Fishing reached its peak in the mid 19th century, fishermen used the coble for line fishing in winter and a larger boat for herring fishing. Fish was loaded into panniers and men and women walked or rode over the moorland tracks to Pickering or York. Many houses in the village were built between 1650 and 1750 and whole families were involved in the fishing industry. A plaque in the town records that a brig named "Visitor" ran aground in Robin Hood's Bay on 18 January 1881 during a violent storm. In order to save the crew, the lifeboat from Whitby was pulled 6 miles overland by 18 horses, with the 7 feet deep snowdrifts present at the time cleared by 200 men. The road down to the sea through Robin Hood's Bay village was narrow and had awkward bends, and men had to go ahead demolishing garden walls and uprooting bushes to make a way for the lifeboat carriage. It was launched two hours after leaving Whitby, with the crew of the Visitor rescued on the second attempt. The main legitimate activity had always been fishing, but this started to decline in the late 19th century. These days most of its income comes from tourism. Robin Hood's Bay is built in a fissure between two steep cliffs. The village houses were built mostly of sandstone with red-tiled roofs. The main street is New Road, which descends from the cliff top where the manor-house, the newer houses and the church of St Stephen stand. It passes through the village crossing the King's Beck and reaches the beach by a cobbled slipway known as Wayfoot where the beck discharges onto the beach. The cliffs are composed of Upper Lias shale capped by Dogger and False Bedded Sandstones and shales of the Lower Oolite. The headlands at each end of the beach are known as Ness Point or North Cheek (north) and Old Peak or South Cheek (south).

Best enlarged North Eastern Guardian III is a 26 m aluminium single hull vessel, owned by the North Eastern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NEIFCA). The vessel was built and delivered in November 2008 by UKI workboat in Finland. The vessel is powered by twin 1000 KW Cat C32 diesel engines capable of a top speed of 26 knots. North Eastern Guardian III is unique in her class. She has been designed and equipped to operate as a state of the art research/monitoring platform carrying Acoustic Ground Discrimination, sub sea surveying and biological/benthic habitat assessment equipment. NEG III remains the most modern and versatile vessel in the inshore fisheries fleet. The vessel is berthed in Whitby North Yorkshire and undertakes offshore fisheries patrol and research work throughout the Authority’s district. This resource is also available for chartering by external organisations and to date has supported habitat assessment and monitoring work, bird and cetacean survey work and fisheries assessment projects. Whitby East Pier Light (or Whitby East Breakwater Light), was built in 1854. The stone built lighthouse stands 55 foot high ( approx 16 mtrs) and had a light visible from 8 miles (approx 13 km). This was replaced in 1914, by the new Whitby east pier light (not in view). The new light was built as a wooden framework tower on 'legs' Currently operational, it displays an automated fixed red light (red for port).

Happy HFF everyone Best enlarged The two piers in Whitby have been in existence since before the 1500's. By 1540, the two oak piers (east and west) were replaced partially, with stonework (in the reign of King Charles 1), with further work around the 1600's. Both piers were rebuilt in 1735, each measuring approximately 183m, but by 1814 the west pier was further extended to reach a length of 309m. In 1905, both the piers had new pier ends built on, each of a length of 152m. The west pier lighthouse was built in 1831, and is a stone 83 feet column tower with a lantern on top. This light still displays a green light when shipping is expected. This lighthouse too was replaced in 1914, by a wooden framework tower on 'legs'.

Best enlarged Specksioneer \Speck`sion*eer"\, n. The chief harpooner, who also directs in cutting up the speck, or blubber; -- so called among whalers.

Best enlarged Sandsend is a small fishing village, near to Whitby in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Lythe. 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. Both of these becks flow through Mulgrave Woods and were bridged by the railway on high viaducts across the village. Sandsend is located on the coastal part of the 110 miles (180 km) Cleveland Way and it follows the course of the old railway line northwards.

Best enlarged Sandsend is a small fishing village, near to Whitby in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the civil parish of Lythe. 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. Both of these becks flow through Mulgrave Woods and were bridged by the railway on high viaducts across the village. Sandsend is located on the coastal part of the 110 miles (180 km) Cleveland Way and it follows the course of the old railway line northwards.

Whitby East Pier Light (or 'Whitby East Breakwater Light), was built in 1854. The stone built lighthouse stands 55 foot high ( approx 16 mtrs) and had a light visible from 8 miles (approx 13 km).

Memorial to Caedmon, St Mary's Churchyard. The inscription reads, "To the glory of God and in memory of Caedmon the father of English Sacred Song. Fell asleep hard by, 680" Cædmon (/ˈkædmən/ or /ˈkædmɒn/) is the earliest English (Northumbrian) poet whose name is known. An Anglo-Saxon who cared for the animals at the double monastery of Streonæshalch (Whitby Abbey) during the abbacy (657–680) of St. Hilda (614–680), he was originally ignorant of "the art of song" but learned to compose one night in the course of a dream, according to the 8th-century historian Bede. He later became a zealous monk and an accomplished and inspirational Christian poet.

The ruins of Whitby Abbey are among the most celebrated sights of North Yorkshire. The first monastery here, founded in about 657, became one of the most important religious centres in the Anglo-Saxon world. In 664 it was the setting for the Synod of Whitby, a landmark in the history of the Church in England. The headland is now dominated by the shell of the 13th-century church of the Benedictine abbey founded after the Norman Conquest.

The ruins of Whitby Abbey are among the most celebrated sights of North Yorkshire. The first monastery here, founded in about 657, became one of the most important religious centres in the Anglo-Saxon world. In 664 it was the setting for the Synod of Whitby, a landmark in the history of the Church in England. The headland is now dominated by the shell of the 13th-century church of the Benedictine abbey founded after the Norman Conquest.

Whitby is best known for its Jet jewelry, wonderful fish, Captain Cook, Whitby Abbey, Dracula and the North York Moors Railway. But where does the name come from? Whitby was originally called Sinus Fari by the Brigantes who were a Celtic tribe controlling large sections of Northern England but by 71 AD they had been conquered by the Romans. In 657 AD Whitby became known as Streonshalh when the then Christian King of Northumbria, Oswy founded a monastery and Abbey there. The Vikings arrived in 867 AD destroying the monastery and renaming the settlement Whitby from the old Norse for White Settlement. Whitby today is a traditional maritime town and historic port in North Yorkshire, where the River Esk meets the sea. It is located in the North York Moors National Park, designated in 1952 and on the Heritage coast, designated in 1979. There have been recorded settlements here since the Saxon period but the erection of the Abbey in 657 AD marked the birth of the town. During the medieval period Whitby was a place of major religious significance, it was one of the earliest and most important centers of Christianity in England. After the dissolution of the monasteries in 1540 Whitby remained a small fishing community of approximately 200 people until the Elizabethan period when Alum was discovered and mining began, the port then grew in maritime and commercial significance. In the mid 18th-19th century there were bustling shipyards, roperys and sail yards in Whitby and ships such as HM Bark Endeavour, Resolution and Adventure were built there. But by the mid the 19th century the shipbuilding and whaling industries were in decline and it was hoped that the railway would help to regenerate the town. A new development began to grow on the West side of the river designed with tourism in mind including a promenade, bandstand and luxury hotels. It is still a busy working environment with a fishing fleet, pleasure boats, ship building works, dry dock and of course the lifeboat which was one of the earliest to be established in 1802.