Runswick Bay - is a picturesque coastal village which is 2 miles South of Staithes along the cliff tops (3 miles by the main road). There is public parking at the bottom of the steep hill that leads to the lower part of the village. Runswick Bay has a large sandy beach, a pub which serves food, a sailing club and an old lifeboat station.

Sandsend - lies at the bottom of a steep hill (Lythe Bank) 7 miles South of Staithes on the road to Whitby. It used to be associated with alum mining and remains of the quarrying can still be seen on the cliff face at the North of the village. Now it is a picturesque village with an excellent sandy beach which attracts surfers and kite flyers from miles around. There is a pub, two hotels, a cafe and a newly opened art gallery.

Whitby is a lovely fishing port on the River Esk, around 10 miles South of Staithes. It still has a busy fishing fleet and fish market but it has also developed a thriving tourist trade. The houses in the centre, especially off Church Street, are quaint old stone built houses which form a warren of tiny streets and yards for visitors to explore.

The abbey at the top of the infamous 199 steps from Church Street was built in the 7th century, it was founded by St Hilda. In 2002 an award winning new visitors' centre was opened at this English Heritage site. Whitby has a number of popular annual events including the famous Folk Week in August when musicians from all around the country arrive to play together.

The shops of Whitby are fascinating and include many specialist vendors. Jet was a very fashionable stone for Victorian jewelery and was mined from the cliffs near Whitby. Church Street still contains many shops which make and sell traditional and contemporary jet jewelery. There are also shops selling fossils, secondhand books, a good musical instrument shop (rare banjos and ukeleles) and an excellent bookshop.

Not surprisingly Whitby is a great place to buy and eat seafood. There are at least three fishmongers who have a wide selection of fish fresh from the boats. Whitby crabs are justly famous and seem to be bigger and with more meat than crabs seen for sale away from the coast. Fortune's fish smokery on Church Street is a splendid institution producing kippers and other smoked fish which come highly recommended by Rick Stein in his books. He also recommends the Magpie Cafe as the purveyors of the best fish and chips in the UK, the long queue outside endorses this.

Robin Hood's Bay - is a charming former fishing village 5 miles South of Whitby. There are only one or two active fishing boats and tourism is the main activity but this has produced a wide range of interesting shops including several secondhand bookshops, an art gallery, and interesting curio shops. There are three pubs, two of which serve food, and a bistro which is currently open at the weekends. When the tide is in it washes right up the launchway to wash the bottom of the main street, but when it is out there is a lovely rocky beach spread out over a magnificent wave cut platform.

North Yorks Moors Railway - this is only 20 miles South of Staithes and is well worth the journey. There are 18 miles of preserved railway track running from Grosmont to Pickering, through the unspoilt countryside of Newton Dale which isn't accessible by any other means. A number of different steam trains pull coaches up and down the lines, including the famous Sir Nigel Gresley. There are trains running almost every day of the year, they are very frequent in summer and at weekends. 01751 472508.

Esk valley and railway - the Esk valley contains a string of pretty villages which includes Grosmont, Egton Bridge, Glaisdale and Castleton. The railway runs from Whitby through this with a regular frequent timetable, the local people use it to go shopping and to travel to work or school. There are 11 stations in the Esk valley making it an ideal way to explore this beautiful countryside.

Slightly further afield Hartlepool's Maritime Experience incorporates a host of activities including HMS Trincomalee, a historic quayside, Fighting Ships, Quayside Coffee Shop and the Museum of Hartlepool & PSS Wingfield Castle. This is a great day out for all the family and is especially suitable on a bit of a rainy day as many of the attractions are indoors (Tel: 01429 860077).