Visit theEsk Valley

History & heritage ยท Whitby

Whitby Lifeboat Museum

The story of one of the busiest lifeboat stations on the east coast, told in the old boathouse on Pier Road.

Photo: Tim Green, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Whitby has had a lifeboat since 1802, and its crews have a long record of gallantry, including the 1881 rescue when the lifeboat was hauled six miles overland through deep snow to Robin Hood's Bay to reach a stricken ship. The museum in the old boathouse on Pier Road tells the story with the last rowing lifeboat to serve at Whitby, the Robert and Ellen Robson, along with medals, photographs and models.

The modern all-weather lifeboat is moored in the harbour nearby, and the station is often open for a look on the way to the pier.

You might also like

History & heritage

Captain Cook Memorial Museum

The 17th-century house where the young James Cook lodged as an apprentice, now a museum of his life and voyages.

Whitby

Attractions

Whitby Harbour and the 199 Steps

Fishing boats, fish and chips, jet shops, the swing bridge and the climb up to St Mary's churchyard.

Whitby

History & heritage

Beggar's Bridge

A graceful 17th-century packhorse bridge built, so the story goes, by a sailor for the sweetheart the river kept him from.

Glaisdale