RNLI Whitby Lifeboat Museum
About
A small museum on Pier Road in the old lifeboat house, and a corrective to the idea that this is a picturesque coast. Whitby's lifeboat station has one of the longest and hardest service records in the country, and the museum's centrepiece is the last of the town's rowing lifeboats, alongside medals, service records and photographs of the rescues that earned them. It takes half an hour and it changes how the harbour mouth looks on the walk back. Free entry with donations invited is the usual RNLI arrangement, but confirm before travelling.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Whitby's last rowing lifeboat
- ✓Medals and service records from a station with an exceptional rescue history
- ✓A short walk from the fish quay and the Magpie queue
- ✓Volunteer crew often on hand to talk
Tips
- →Broadly 10:00 to 16:00 daily, but seasonal and volunteer-dependent; check rnli.org for your date.
- →Combine it with the walk out along the west pier for the best view of the harbour entrance.
- →It is a genuinely good twenty minutes for children who have had enough of shops.
Best Season
More Attraction Activities
Whitby Abbey
The medieval abbey ruin on the East Cliff, with an English Heritage museum covering Hild, Caedmon and the Dracula connection.
The 199 Steps
The grade I listed Church Stairs from Church Street up to St Mary's, in use since at least 1370, with coffin-rest platforms on the way.
St Mary's Church
The clifftop parish church at the top of the steps, with an extraordinary unrestored interior of white box pews fitted by ships' carpenters.