A dramatic coast of rugged cliffs and fishing villages contained within the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. The coastline is a dramatic one of rugged cliffs dotted with small fishing villages. The Cleveland Way National Trail runs the entire length of the heritage coast, and provides exhilarating walking along the cliffs.
Wildflowers abound along the clifftops, particularly cowslips, wild violets, and knapweed.
The cultural centre of the heritage coast must be historic Whitby. The town is home to Whitby Abbey, established in 657 AD by St. Hilda. A relative newcomer is the parish church of St. Mary's, one of the finest Anglo-Saxon churches remaining in Britain. It was at the Synod of Whitby in 664 that the Celtic and Roman branches of the Christian church met to hammer out their differences, which resulted in the triumph of the Roman tradition. On a more literary front, Whitby Abbey is also famous as the place where Bram Stoker's Count Dracula landed when he first came to England.