Fitz

the cobbled ramp wrapping around the corner of a three-storey whitewashed building bearing the sign Abbey Steps Tea Rooms, whose lower windows are almost swallowed up in a turn of the track.

the cobbled ramp wrapping around the corner of a three-storey whitewashed building bearing the sign Abbey Steps Tea Rooms, whose lower windows are almost swallowed up in a turn of the track.

Further up the donkey track is a cottage whose front door opens directly onto the steep cobbled slope, which I can only imagine must be quite a challenge in ice and snow and definitely a house for a hardy soul. As we begin to climb above the town we can see over the left-hand railing the steps down to Tate Hill Sands from whence we just came.

Further up the donkey track is a cottage whose front door opens directly onto the steep cobbled slope, which I can only imagine must be quite a challenge in ice and snow and definitely a house for a hardy soul. As we begin to climb above the town we can see over the left-hand railing the steps down to Tate Hill Sands from whence we just came.

Beyond the pier running along a shelf at the base of the cliff above Collier's Hope lies Henrietta Street where a famous kipper smokehouse called Fortune's Kippers has been in business since 1872. and whose somewhat overpowering smell has been hailed as part of the Whitby experience for decades. Henrietta Street stretches along the base of the cliff for a while until it peters out suddenly.

Beyond the pier running along a shelf at the base of the cliff above Collier's Hope lies Henrietta Street where a famous kipper smokehouse called Fortune's Kippers has been in business since 1872. and whose somewhat overpowering smell has been hailed as part of the Whitby experience for decades. Henrietta Street stretches along the base of the cliff for a while until it peters out suddenly.

A ramp branches off from here, forking to either the base of East Pier or a drop-off straight into the sea. whilst a grassy ledge known by the Old Norse name of the Haggleith, meaning sloping area of land on the cliff, continues the trajectory of Henrietta Street for a little way further along the cliff shelf.

A ramp branches off from here, forking to either the base of East Pier or a drop-off straight into the sea. whilst a grassy ledge known by the Old Norse name of the Haggleith, meaning sloping area of land on the cliff, continues the trajectory of Henrietta Street for a little way further along the cliff shelf.

This area was once much larger and filled with houses and businesses, but several serious landslips, including one in 1787 and one in 1871, sent several buildings crashing down the cliff. The once respectable area was eventually abandoned due to this danger and became the haunt of the poorest of society and the town's ne'er-do-wells.

This area was once much larger and filled with houses and businesses, but several serious landslips, including one in 1787 and one in 1871, sent several buildings crashing down the cliff. The once respectable area was eventually abandoned due to this danger and became the haunt of the poorest of society and the town's ne'er-do-wells.

There was also danger from above for dwellers of the Haggleith, the area sitting as it does directly beneath the graveyard of St Mary's Church, where coastal erosion nibbles away at the cliff, and severe weather such as ice or heavy rain occasionally opens up the ground to send the bones of buried parishioners hurtling down onto the buildings below.

There was also danger from above for dwellers of the Haggleith, the area sitting as it does directly beneath the graveyard of St Mary's Church, where coastal erosion nibbles away at the cliff, and severe weather such as ice or heavy rain occasionally opens up the ground to send the bones of buried parishioners hurtling down onto the buildings below.

This still happens today, with one of the most recent occurrences in January of 2013. Although the rector at the time reassured everyone that the bones would of course be collected and respectfully reinterred, and noted that, as the graveyard has been closed for burials since the mid-19th century, no one need be concerned about anything too, um, fresh tumbling down the cliff.

This still happens today, with one of the most recent occurrences in January of 2013. Although the rector at the time reassured everyone that the bones would of course be collected and respectfully reinterred, and noted that, as the graveyard has been closed for burials since the mid-19th century, no one need be concerned about anything too, um, fresh tumbling down the cliff.

According to the old fishermen of the village, St Mary's Graveyard was not a good place to be on the night following the funeral of a man of the sea.

According to the old fishermen of the village, St Mary's Graveyard was not a good place to be on the night following the funeral of a man of the sea.

But if you were to venture out on such a night, you might just hear the sound of horses' hooves clattering across the abbey plain, the sound growing closer and louder until you can hear the creak of wheels and jangle of harnesses as a carriage bears directly towards the church, no obstacles seeming to halt its progress.

But if you were to venture out on such a night, you might just hear the sound of horses' hooves clattering across the abbey plain, the sound growing closer and louder until you can hear the creak of wheels and jangle of harnesses as a carriage bears directly towards the church, no obstacles seeming to halt its progress.

From out of the blackness, six horses emerge, all of them a coal black that seems darker than the night itself, and behind them, cloaked in a velvet pall, a driver steers them towards a freshly filled grave. In their wake, a line of skeletal figures forms a train of mourners, and reaching their intended target, the ghastly spectacle starts to circle the grave.

From out of the blackness, six horses emerge, all of them a coal black that seems darker than the night itself, and behind them, cloaked in a velvet pall, a driver steers them towards a freshly filled grave. In their wake, a line of skeletal figures forms a train of mourners, and reaching their intended target, the ghastly spectacle starts to circle the grave.