Shops in Whitby Yorkshire and looking decidedly festive at the moment in preparation for the coming Christmas Celebrations. It hardly seems any time since we had the scorching heat of the summer and the wonderful Indian Summer in September and October and here we are in the run up to Christmas.
The Halloween decorations, Bonfire Night decorations and fireworks left the shelves and suddenly there appeared Christmas Cards, decorations, tinsel, lights and all manner of festive fayre.
Scarborough Borough Council has played its part as well as the Shops in Whitby with regard to the Christmas Season. There have been a number of decorations adorning some of the lamp posts for the last couple of months but this week has seen the erection of the Christmas Trees. The coloured lights at the bottom of Bagdale and the lovely decorated tree near the Tourist Information Centre (albeit a little on the tilt) are a delight. In contrast, (by colour), the white lights on the tree near the Swing Bridge contrast with the polar bear which sits atop the shop nearby. Mentioning the Swing Bridge, the Golden Crown has made an appearance once again.
The Shops in Whitby are very popular with the tourists visiting at this time of year as it is possible to choose some very unusual gifts from some of the smaller indedpendent retail outfits, as opposed to the larger chain stores. Church Street has many such shops with most unusual stock, mostly pertaining to Whitby itself. The shops along Pier Road too have unique merchandise, more often than not in the confectionery line, but nevertheless there are the unusual gems to be found.
Baxtergate and Flowergate have some of the larger establishments which are currently displaying some wonderful shop windows decorated for the season. Tinsel and lights in abundance as well as the delightful musical renditions of carols etc. Golden Lion Bank and the other smaller streets that lead off Baxtergate and Flowergate are all playing their part.
Skinner Street, not to be outdone, has some lovely shop window displays, and not only the shops but the cafes too. Grape Lane and the other shops off Church Street i.e. Sandgate and the Market Place are worth of note. Individual shops are too numerous to mention individually but suffice to say that the majority of Shops in Whitby are endeavouring to make the Christmas Festive Season full of colour, light and all things merry and bright!
Sandsend Railway Station on the north east coastline is now a disused station on the old Whitby Redcar and Middlesbrough Union Railway line. This line was opened on the 3rd December, 1883. It was a remarkably scenic route originating from near to the River Tees in Middlesbrough and running to the River Esk in Whitby whereupon it joined the Scarborough to Whitby line and the Whitby Pickering line.
