Whitby s Nautical Heritage

W hitby's nautical               transporting alum for the textile  heritage runs deep in the     and tanning industries, and the    town's blood, and             coastal trade in coal had a        everywhere you go there are           strong presence in Whitby.         reminders of this affiliation -                                          from the dark passageway leading      Although the alum industry         to the old and evocatively-named      gradually closed down in the 19th  Old Smuggler café, nestled            century, rendered redundant by     unexpectedly between two modern       more modern dyeing technologies,   shops on Baxtergate - to the more     by then the Industrial Revolution  obvious reminders in and around       had led to an increase in demand   the town's harbor.                    for one of the fishing industry's                                        most lucrative seasonal catches -  Whitby's first and last link with     herrings.                          the sea was fishing - ever since                                         its foundation, fishing has been      Once a year, in late summer,       a means of supplying the              fishing boats from as far afield   settlement with food, but over        as Scotland and Cornwall would     the years fishing and                 converge on Whitby, ready to take  ship-building were to grow from       their share of the herring catch.  subsistence and small-scale           Much of the fish was exported and  businesses to become major            for a time both supply and demand  sources of income for the town.       for the little silver fish seemed                                        insatiable.                        By 1706, Whitby was the                                                  sixth-largest shipbuilding port       The period from 1753 until the     in the UK, building more than 130     middle of the 19th century also    cargo ships each year. The output     saw great wealth and success for   of the local alum mines kept          Whitby's whalers, which although   local merchant shipowners busy        fewer in number could make huge    profits from a single trip,           fishing industry continues to      creating a number of extremely        survive in Whitby.                 wealthy men in the town. The                                             whaling industry is commemorated      Many of today's visitors to        by a huge whalebone arch, several     Whitby are content simply to see,  times the height of a man, which      smell and occasionally paddle in   stands at the top of the steps        the sea, but for those of a more   leading to West Cliff. Nearby         adventurous or hands-on nature,    stands an equally impressive          there are a range of seagoing      statue of Captain James Cook,         activities available.              perhaps Yorkshire's most famous                                          seafarer.                             Lovers of deep-sea fishing will                                          find ample opportunities to        Today, fishing is conducted on a      practice their craft, with both    fairly small scale, with a            group charter services and         mixture of a few deep sea             scheduled excursions available,    trawlers, and rather more smaller     often with all equipment           boats which are used to catch the     provided.                          shellfish that Whitby is so                                              popular for. Most of this             There are a range of boat trips    freshly-caught produce will later     available in season, appealing to  grace the tables of luxury            the inner child within us all -    restaurants, both in the town and     Whitby's old lifeboat makes        elsewhere in the UK. Its premium      regular trips around the bay, and  quality fetches strong prices and     for the more adventurous rides on  is one of the ways in which the       a jet-boat are on offer.           About the Author: Alan Moore invites you to join his free email newsletter, The Whitby Bite: http://www.dracula-in-whitby.com/whitby-bite.html, where you can learn more about the real Dracula and his connection to Whitby, Yorkshire's unique vampire town. Published At: www.Isnare.com