Scaling the Heights for Heathcliff

With its rugged moors and wild seas, YASMIN VINCE felt she was plunged into a Gothic drama in Whitby

- YASMIN VINCE

Sometimes, when a storm hits the UK and rain batters the pavements and wind whips the trees, it's easy to feel the kind of awe-inspiring conditions that helped Emily Brontë to write her classic novel, Wuthering Heights.

There is a little town in Yorkshire — 100 miles from Cathy and Heathcliff’s home - that is steeped in just as much Gothic drama, where every day feels like you've tumbled into a dark Victorian melodrama.

Just getting to Whitby was a beautiful journey. The town is nestled between the rugged expanse of the moors and the wild thrashing of the North Sea.

In days gone by, travellers would only be able to access it if they hiked for miles along the hills and valleys of the North York Moors or braved the violent waves of the sea. Now, we have cars and trains, but both still take you over the moors.

As my coach sped through the twists and turns of the roads across the moors, I was like a child, with my face pressed against the window. There wasn't a soul for miles, just acres and acres of heather.

Once in Whitby, where you can hear the waves crash against the sea defences and feel the wind whistle past your ears, it’s easy to see how someone might think a faint voice calling for Heathcliff was coming over their shoulder.

The town itself is split into two halves.