Staithes is a lovely small fishing village and harbour on the East coast, North of Whitby, it is full of charm and history. Today the village is primarily a tourist destination encompassed within the North Yorkshire Moors National Park. The area is a great location for geologist and fossil hunters and perhaps most famously, the home of a community of well-known artists. The Staithes Group were active in the village in the late 19th century, often painting local scenes including fishermen’s wives in their distinctive draped cotton bonnets. The group comprised of up to 30 artists at any one time. Today their legacy lives on and for the past few years Staithes has staged an Arts Festival over an autumn weekend during which many homes and shops are converted into art galleries and pop-up cafes with street food stalls which cater for the thousands of visitors who descend on the village.

Although famous for its past fishing industry, Staithes has been connected to the mineral production industry for several hundreds of years, an industry that continues to the present day. The Boulby Potash mine being one of the deepest in the United Kingdom and situated just outside the village.

It was in 1744 that a young 16-year-old called James Cook moved to Staithes to work in a shop of William Sanderson. It was only for a couple of years before he moved to Whitby and joined the Walker family shipping business, and the rest is history. 

The village is also well-known in the TV and film industry, during our visit several parking spaces by the harbour frontage had been allocated to film crews.  Staithes was the location for the much-loved CBBC series Old Jack’s Boat, starring Bernard Cribbins as Old Jack and Salty the dog!