Holiday in the UK. Whitby, York, Scarborough.

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I have a week of holiday that overlaps with the school holidays. My usual family trip to Tokyo is obviously not going ahead so the wife wants to visit a few places in the UK. She has been recommended Whitby, York and Scarborough. I know nothing about any of them.

None of us drive so we would have to do all travel via train, but would like to visit three places, stay in hotels and have somewhere nice to look around and do stuff. I'm guessing two or perhaps three days in each place. Doesn't have to be those listed above, but I seriously don't have a clue.

 

[miss direct]

I spent two days in York in May and really liked it. Very "English" with lovely architecture and a nice river, park, etc. I travelled by train from Sheffield very easily. Stayed in a bed and breakfast which I booked on booking.com - reasonable and quite charming. I haven't been to the others but suspect they may be rammed this summer. If you'd like somewhere a little quieter, you could look at Filey (same sort of area).

 

[platinumsage]

Yes, sounds like a plan, also consider Filey (nice beach) and Flamborough (sea bird colonies, white cliffs with small coves, rockpools - train station at Bempton)

 

[Steel Icarus]

Scarborough has great memories for me, I went on holiday many years running as a kid, twice as an adult, and have been a couple of times fairly recently for day trips. It's got the gaudy seaside nonsense you'd expect from a seaside town but also lots of quieter parks and gardens, including Peasholme Park which is very lovely. There's the castle too which isn't that exciting cos there's fuck-all left of it but it's a good looking ruin. There's a funicular railway and a nice if tiring walk up Oliver's Mount.

Dunno much about the others other than Whitby has an abbey and some Dracula stuff

 

[kebabking]

York and Whitby. All three are great, but PT might be easier.

If they are a bit crowded, with fun finding accommodation, you could try further up the NE coast - Durham, or Berwick-upon-tweed.

Kind of depends what you want: certainly I could spend a week on foot in York, maybe 2 or days each in Durham and Berwick. Countryside/beaches around both are fantastic, and a day trip to Edinburgh is fairly easy from both, though of course much quicker from Berwick...

 

[Kevbad the Bad]

Whitby is dead good. All the Dracula and Goth stuff. Crazy ruined abbey and graveyard. Lots of real ale and fish and chips. Narrow lanes, great views. Saw a great impromptu play about Dracula in the grounds of the abbey there once.

Also really worth going on the North York Moors railway line to Pickering, or stations along the way.

Scarborough quite fun if you stick to the shoreline and harbour, in a decayed seaside town sort of way.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

York and Whitby. All three are great, but PT might be easier.

If they are a bit crowded, with fun finding accommodation, you could try further up the NE coast - Durham, or Berwick-upon-tweed.

Kind of depends what you want: certainly I could spend a week on foot in York, maybe 2 or days each in Durham and Berwick. Countryside/beaches around both are fantastic, and a day trip to Edinburgh is fairly easy from both, though of course much quicker from Berwick...

What's PT?

 

[lazythursday]

I like Scarborough, it's one of the nicer northern seaside towns, yes a bit faded but streets ahead of most of the places on the west coast. And it's easier to get to on the train than Whitby, which takes ages unless you're in the north east (it's actually likely a lot quicker and easier to get the bus between Scarborough and Whitby rather than the train).

It's a really good idea ATOMIC SUPLEX and you'll have a great time - there's plenty for adults and kids across those three destinations and they're very different despite being geographically pretty close.

 

[dessiato]

I've lived in Scarborough, worked in York, visited all the other places mentioned. They're all great. I'd add places like Staithes and Grosmont to visit. There's so much to do in the area you will not be bored.

 

[kebabking]

What's PT?

Public transport.

 

[dessiato]

ATOMIC SUPLEX if you're using public transport the journeys themselves can be quite pretty. N Yorks and the moors really are beautiful, and I say this as a Lincolnshire man.

 

[QueenOfGoths]

York is really lovely with great museums (Castle Museum, National Railway Museum) and of course the Minster. Good pubs too.

Whitby is rugged, set in beautiful countryside and yes, rather gothic.

I went to Scarborough a lot on holiday as a kid and have been back a couple of times as an adult. I love it, it's a proper seaside bucket and spade, slot machine arcade town. The North Bay has an amazing beach, Peasholm Park is great and the Castle is worth a visit for the views and history. But the town itself has seen better days and if you don't enjoy fish and chip, beach holidays it might not be for you.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

This is all really great feedback guys. I guess I just have to worry about / figure out the journey / itinerary. I'm slightly put off Scarborough as the people who say they like it seem to be attached to it from their childhood, and I don't like the idea of old school postcard bucket and spade / slots / arcades. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[dessiato]

This is all really great feedback guys. I guess I just have to worry about / figure out the journey / itinerary. I'm slightly put off Scarborough as the people who say they like it seem to be attached to it from their childhood, and I don't like the idea of old school postcard bucket and spade / slots / arcades. Correct me if I am wrong.

I had never visited it until I moved there for work, but nonetheless would recommend it as a base at least. There is a bit of a bucket and spade vibe around the bays. But there's so much else to do in the area you can easily ignore that side if you choose to.

 

[platinumsage]

From Scarborough you can do everything else on easy day trips one bus/train away, but if you stayed anywhere else and wanted to visit the places in this thread, you'd need to change at Scarborough most times.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Whitby is great - make sure you go to the whalebone on the clifftop parade, and then get some fish and chips afterwards - you can also go to Staithes and the like along the coast, all pretty little villages. York is also a lovely place to visit, but tourist hell. Not been to Scarborough since childhood so don't remember it very well.

Oh yeah, and it's obligatory to bring us all sticks of rock back.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

From Scarborough you can do everything else on easy day trips one bus/train away, but if you stayed anywhere else and wanted to visit the places in this thread, you'd need to change at Scarborough most times.

Interesting.

I think we were thinking of moving from one location to the next rather than having a base and doing day trips. We don't 100% have to visit the listed areas, they were just the ones suggested to my wife. I have very very little knowledge of the area. I think I went on a work trip to York once and stayed in a travel lodge by the motorway.

 

[StoneRoad]

I have a soft spot for those three ATOMIC SUPLEX , all are easy(ish) to get to by train.
All have plenty to do, a bit too much in some cases.
Whitby can get crowded and pricey, but there are self-catering places as well.
Scarborough has a "kiss-me-quick" reputation and I think has generally gone a bit mass/down-market.
York is very diverse and well connected ...

Berwick, North Berwick, Seahouses, Whitley Bay / Cullercoats ... all alternatives but, unfortunately, Seahouses is not on the rail network, so maybe scrub that one.

 

[belboid]

Whitby is lovely but gets rammed to fuck and can be a right pain in the arse. Travelling up that coast is wonderful tho. Start at Brid and everything gets better after that.

There’s plenty in and around Scarborough to see and do as an adult it’s not just a kids place. Legendary DJ Danny Wilde is starting playing again too!

 

[dessiato]

Whitby is lovely but gets rammed to fuck and can be a right pain in the arse. Travelling up that coast is wonderful tho. Start at Brid and everything gets better after that.

There’s plenty in and around Scarborough to see and do as an adult it’s not just a kids place. Legendary DJ Danny Wilde is starting playing again too!

That's just brought to mind the possibility of starting in Hull to visit some of these places. It was a city of culture a few years back and has some interesting places to visit. (Also my alma mater is there)

 

[belboid]

Agreed, hull is much nicer than it’s reputation implies and is well worth a visit.

 

[klang]

scarborough is wicked

 

[lazythursday]

York to Scarborough is an easy 50 minute train journey, so you could easily just visit Scarborough for the day. But I wouldn't be too put off by people here - it's not Blackpool or Skegness, it's quite an attractive town with nice parks and beaches - and there are lots of nearby places to visit like North York Moors, Filey, Flamborough Head - the last two of which can easily be accessed by rail and there must be a bus going from Scarborough to somewhere within the national park.

 

[pinkmonkey]

I've spent a lot of time in these areas - my gran lived in Scarborough I was there only last week.
Scarborough -
Very working class, although it's been tidied up a lot and they've now got PSPOs in place there to try to prevent drunks staggering around can in hand. More activities for kids, South Bay beach is sheltered and safe with lots of food options a short walk away on the sea front, the harbour bar best ice creams ever. Also Eat Me cafe is amazing, we like Mother Hubbards Small Fry and Leeds fisheries (all in town). It's changing, there's a surfers b&b near my grans, there were a lot of folk paddleboarding and swimming, some of the shops down to the beach are a lot more fancy and hip than in the old days, but the amusements and ice cream shops and fun fair at the harbour are the same and that's no bad thing.
Whitby -
Middle Class, seems more focussed on adults - especialy goths. It's very hilly. Quite hip (Scarbourough was never hip) Beach is not sheltered and is less convenient for getting food etc when you're on it. Trenchers is our choice of chippy, that's where the locals prefer, the tourists go to the Magpie cafe.. I often go for a day trip there with mum.
I'd go for Scarborough because you can get the coastliner as a day trip to both York and to Whitby.
York - it's obviously not a bucket and spade holiday, it's got more history and museums than the seaside resorts. It's probably less busy than it normally would be - no foreign tourists, but I'm not sure how much will be open - we were in Windsor (another trouristy place) recently and tons of it was shut because there wasn't many tourists.

 

[neonwilderness]

If you're getting the train up you'd need to change at York anyway. So maybe do a couple of days there then use Scarborough as a base for the rest of the trip? Of the two I prefer Whitby, but it's probably a bit more difficult to get to other places from there on public transport. The North York Moors Railway runs there, but I think they're running a reduced service at the moment.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

If you're getting the train up you'd need to change at York anyway. So maybe do a couple of days there then use Scarborough as a base for the rest of the trip? Of the two I prefer Whitby, but it's probably a bit more difficult to get to other places from there on public transport. The North York Moors Railway runs there, but I think they're running a reduced service at the moment.

Do I really need a 'base'?
I'd rather not be traveling back and forth.
If I want to do a bit of York I'd stay there for a few days then maybe move on to the next place for a few days. . . or am I thinking of it all wrong.

 

[neonwilderness]

Do I really need a 'base'?
I'd rather not be traveling back and forth.
If I want to do a bit of York I'd stay there for a few days then maybe move on to the next place for a few days. . . or am I thinking of it all wrong.

I suppose it depends where you want to go. Personally I'd prefer to stay in one or two places and do day trips from there rather than changing hotels every couple of days.

 

[lazythursday]

Do I really need a 'base'?
I'd rather not be traveling back and forth.
If I want to do a bit of York I'd stay there for a few days then maybe move on to the next place for a few days. . . or am I thinking of it all wrong.

I guess there's the hassle of lugging all your stuff about on public transport. I'd definitely stay in York for a few days, there's plenty to do (in normal times anyway). Then I think I'd pick either Scarborough or Whitby for the rest of the trip as somewhere to stay. You can visit the other one for a day trip.

 

[Mrs Miggins]

Do I really need a 'base'?
I'd rather not be traveling back and forth.
If I want to do a bit of York I'd stay there for a few days then maybe move on to the next place for a few days. . . or am I thinking of it all wrong.

I'd prefer to do it like that as well. Less time spent travelling.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I guess there's the hassle of lugging all your stuff about on public transport. I'd definitely stay in York for a few days, there's plenty to do (in normal times anyway). Then I think I'd pick either Scarborough or Whitby for the rest of the trip as somewhere to stay. You can visit the other one for a day trip.

Yeah, but I would book into one, do a few days sightseeing, check out, move to then next hotel, book in then look around, dinner, sleep, get up and look around all day then back to the hotel.