Whitby Harbour East Lighthouse

The red and white striped tower standing at the end of Whitby's East Pier is one of those landmarks that stops you mid-conversation. It's been guiding ships into this Yorkshire harbour since 1885, and walking out to it on a clear day feels genuinely special - you get the North Sea properly in your face, along with views back across the town's rooftops and the famous abbey perched on the cliff.

It's a working lighthouse, so you won't get inside, but that's almost beside the point. The real draw is the walk itself. The East Pier isn't long, maybe fifteen minutes there and back, but it's exposed enough that bad weather makes it properly dramatic. Photographers love it, especially at sunset when the light turns everything gold. Kids find the whole thing satisfying - there's something about reaching the end of a pier that feels like an achievement.

This works brilliantly as part of a Whitby day out rather than a destination in itself. Pair it with a walk up to the abbey, a proper fish and chip tea, and a poke around the narrow streets where Dracula first landed in the novel. If you're staying at Whitby Cliff Top Touring Park just half a mile away, you can be down here in minutes. It costs nothing and takes as little or as long as you want - ten minutes if you're rushed, an hour if you're dawdling with a camera or just watching the boats. Go when the tide's out and the light's good. Avoid it during storms unless you're after that kind of thing.