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Whitby is an historic town and civil parish in the Scarborough district of North Yorkshire on the north-east coast of England. Nowadays it is a fishing port and tourist destination. It is situated 47 miles (76 km) from York, at the mouth of the River Esk and spreads up the steep sides of the narrow valley carved out by the river's course. At this point the coast curves round, so the town faces more north than east. Many interesting fossils have been found in the Whitby area including entire skeletons of pterodactyls. Whitby is known for its well preserved ammonite fossils, which can sometimes be found on the seashore, or purchased from any number of stalls or shops in the town. At the end of the 16th century, Thomas Chaloner of York travelled to Italy and visited the alum works in the Papal States. He recognised that the rock from which the alum was made was identical to that abundant in several areas in and around his Guisborough estate in North Yorkshire. Alum was a very important product at that time, used internationally, in curing leather, fixing dyed cloths and for medicinal uses. Up to this period the Vatican had maintained a virtual monopoly on the production and sale of the product. Source : www.wikipedia.org.uk

Local Attractions :
Captain Cook Memorial Museum : www.cookmuseumwhitby.co.uk
Smugglers Whitby : http://www.smuggling.co.uk/gazetteer_e_16.html
Whitby Abbey : http://www.whitbyabbey.co.uk/