The impressive ruins of Whitby Abbey are perched on a headland overlooking the town of Whitby and the North Sea, and are said to have been the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, along with certain areas of the town.
Bronze age archaeological finds confirm the site was settled during that period.
The Abbey was originally a Christian Monastery housing both monks and nuns, founded in the seventh century by Abbess Hild, who had been born into one of the most powerful kingdoms of the time. She was the great niece of the Northumbrian king.
When the Vikings attacked the east coast in the ninth century, the monastery fell into disrepair until the eleventh century when it was re-established as a Benedictine Abbey. This abbey lasted until it was destroyed by Henry VIII during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
betweenthelinesbookblog.com 
One of my favourite places 💕
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It’s an incredible place 🙂
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Interesting post .. I live in Durham and have always wanted to visit Whitby especially at Halloween
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Thanks, Tracy. It would be amazing to visit at Halloween!
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Beautiful images Cathy! Enjoy your day and much love to you and Finn from all of us here :o) xxx
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As mentioned before, one of my favourite places in the world. I feel calmer and more relaxed just looking at these! ❤
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Whitby has incredible ruins though the best part is their fush and chups 🙂 Great post, Cathy!
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Thanks very much 🙂
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Another spot I have on my bucket list to visit and also to see if I can find some Whitby Jet. Great photos xx
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Thanks, Yvonne 🙂 xx
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Wow! Still really easy to tell what an impressive building that must have been in its day.
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Absolutely! It must have been incredible.
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These are amazing, Cathy – picture postcard quality! Sell ’em to the Tourist Board!!
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Thanks so much, Terry! Judging by the pictures they had on show when we visited, I’m not sure they’d want my efforts 😉
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Another wonderful post, Cathy! Your photos are beautiful and show what a grand structure the abbey once was. ❤️❤️❤️
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Thank you, Michelle 💖 It must have been truly amazing.
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I love Whitby; we went on holiday there the first time because we wanted to walk up the 200 ( or is it 199? ) steps and see the abbey.
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I think it’s 199 which is more than enough 😁
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Whitby is fab and your photos really do it justice, Cathy. The one thing that really puts me off though is the seagulls – I find them terrifying.
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I’m trying to picture what it was look like at night… or during a full moon!
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Spooooky 👻
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Hahahaha. Oh yeah!
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We were talking about visiting Whitby only the other day. #WorldDraculaDay! Even more intrigued now. X
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Hope you enjoy x
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I love this place. The first time we visited in January 1977, there had been a fresh snowfall. It looked amazing dusted with snow. The graveyard attached to it is also cool.
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I can imagine it must have looked so beautiful in the snow. This was my first visit but I’m sure we’ll be back again.
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