Local Area Information for Yorkshire coast holiday house in Sandsend, Whitby

Located at the foot of Lythe bank Sandsend is a picturesque village with cottages set against a backdrop of cliffs and two meandering streams which lead to the sandy beach.

The beach featured as one of Britain's 20 best beaches by Telegraph Travel in July 2011, Sandsend beach is "Set against a backdrop of grassy cliffs, where the wide sweep of beach from Whitby ends, this stretch is quieter and prettier than its famous neighbour. Children play in the little becks that flow across the sand and ducks waddle across the green in charming Sandsend village. This is a great place for fossil hunting at low tide."

The village is served by a local shop, Sandsend Stores, and Tides Beach Shop (with surf school) (email: sandsendsurfschool@hotmail.co.uk; ). There are also excellent restaurants (such as Estbek House with its award winning restaurant and extensive fine wine selection, www.estbekhouse.co.uk), The Hart Inn which is a traditional pub with good food, teashops and an art gallery.

About 2 miles to the south is the historic fishing town of Whitby: dominated by the cliff top ruins of its 13th century Abbey and famous for its connections with Captain Cook and Dracula.  There are many good restaurants there and numerous very good fish and chips shops including the celebrated Magpie Cafe.    There is a good golf course on the cliffs between Sandsend and Whitby. Further to the south is Robin Hoods Bay and  the lovely Victorian seaside town of Scarborough (home to the Stephen Joseph Theatre where Alan Ayckbourn premieres all his plays).

A visit to the area would not be complete without a trip to the North Yorkshire  Moors (the spectacular scenery was recently featured on Richard Wilson's 'Great British Drives' programme).  The NYMR steam railway operates between Whitby and Pickering taking in some tremendous scenery which featured in the popular television series "Heartbeat" and the James Herriot books.