GOTHIC WHITBY

It is a most noble ruin, of immense size, and full of beautiful and romantic bits,” writes heroine Mina Murray about Whitby Abbey in Dracula by Bram Stoker.

I am writing, as did Gothic literature’s famous leading lady, from the shadow of Whitby Abbey – a spectacular ruin perched high above the town. There is the promise of a storm in the towering clouds across the bay and the wind hums around the ancient stone, whispering through dry grasses that have been left to grow for wildlife. The town is bustling, but up here, even at the height of the season, there is always peace to be found – and a blessed lack of anyone playing ‘Blueberry Hill’ on a kazoo (buskers, like wasps, are attracted to large concentrations of people with ice creams).

There is something about this place that inspires introspection. It has a calmness about it that causes people to speak quietly, if at all.