Whitby Abbey

Whitby Abbey looms high above the town on the East Cliff, its haunting Gothic ruins staring out across the North Sea like something from a dark story. Founded as a monastery in AD 657, the abbey later became a Benedictine stronghold before falling into ruin after the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. Today, the skeletal arches and broken walls create one of the most atmospheric sights on the Yorkshire coast. It was here that Bram Stoker found inspiration for Dracula during a visit in 1890, with the windswept headland, graveyard and looming ruins shaping the eerie mood of his famous vampire tale. Climb the famous 199 steps and you arrive at a place where sea mist, circling bats and centuries of stories combine to make Whitby’s most spine-tingling landmark.