LET'S MOVE TO Whitby

A WINDSWEPT OUTPOST BRIMMING WITH CHARACTER AND WILD COASTAL WALKS

- SOPHIE GALE

Whitby is pretty. This unspoiled former herring fishing village at the mouth of the River Esk has red-roofed cottages to the east, Georgian spa architecture to the west, and a smartly painted 75ft swing bridge connecting the two. There are lighthouses, lamp posts, and bobbing boats, surrounded by the wild North York Moors National Park on three sides, while the North Sea is lapping – or more often crashing – at the harbor walls. But there is also an intriguingly darker seam to explore – quite literally, in the form of jet stone, formed from the fossilized remains of the monkey puzzle tree and mined from the cliffs here. Plus, Whitby is where Bram Stoker set his Gothic novel Dracula.

IN THE ESTATE AGENT’S WINDOW