Whitby
An attractive destination, the historic port of Whitby is nestled in the estuary of the River Esk, which tumbles down from the North York Moors that surround the town. It attracts numerous visitors in search of fossils and jet, both of which abound along the shores, the latter having given rise to a unique trade in jewelry, in striking funereal black, made fashionable by Queen Victoria in her long years of mourning following the death of Albert.
For us, there is a twin purpose in making for Whitby on the penultimate day of our circumnavigation of the British Isles. This was the homeport of the original Bark Endeavour which took Captain Cook, a local Yorkshireman, on his historic first voyage of discovery from 1768 to 1771. Cook’s Endeavour has been described as the world’s first scientifically equipped expedition ship, a tradition that Lindblad Expeditions is proud to continue. Our ship was renamed the M.S. Endeavour in Whitby a year ago in honor of Cook’s achievements.
After visiting the splendid Captain Cook Memorial Museum, we progressed to Whitby Abbey, dramatically situated above the town on high cliffs overlooking the North Sea. On this voyage we have seen the story of Celtic Christianity unfold from the beehive huts of Skellig Michael to St Enda’s Oratory on Aran. We have traveled with St Columba from his home in Donegal across the sea to Iona. We have continued with his protégé Aidan to Lindisfarne. In AD 664, final chapter in that story closes with the Synod of Whitby when leaders of the Celtic Church agreed to adopt the practices of the Church of Rome. An interpretation center at the Abbey helped to put the whole story in context all the more satisfying for having had the chance to visit so many of the key sites in this extraordinary story during a single voyage.
An attractive destination, the historic port of Whitby is nestled in the estuary of the River Esk, which tumbles down from the North York Moors that surround the town. It attracts numerous visitors in search of fossils and jet, both of which abound along the shores, the latter having given rise to a unique trade in jewelry, in striking funereal black, made fashionable by Queen Victoria in her long years of mourning following the death of Albert.
For us, there is a twin purpose in making for Whitby on the penultimate day of our circumnavigation of the British Isles. This was the homeport of the original Bark Endeavour which took Captain Cook, a local Yorkshireman, on his historic first voyage of discovery from 1768 to 1771. Cook’s Endeavour has been described as the world’s first scientifically equipped expedition ship, a tradition that Lindblad Expeditions is proud to continue. Our ship was renamed the M.S. Endeavour in Whitby a year ago in honor of Cook’s achievements.
After visiting the splendid Captain Cook Memorial Museum, we progressed to Whitby Abbey, dramatically situated above the town on high cliffs overlooking the North Sea. On this voyage we have seen the story of Celtic Christianity unfold from the beehive huts of Skellig Michael to St Enda’s Oratory on Aran. We have traveled with St Columba from his home in Donegal across the sea to Iona. We have continued with his protégé Aidan to Lindisfarne. In AD 664, final chapter in that story closes with the Synod of Whitby when leaders of the Celtic Church agreed to adopt the practices of the Church of Rome. An interpretation center at the Abbey helped to put the whole story in context all the more satisfying for having had the chance to visit so many of the key sites in this extraordinary story during a single voyage.
