For sale: Stylish apartment in Whitby owned by Duchess of Edinburgh's former business partner

This time it was Whitby that took his heart. “We’ve been holidaying here for years,” he says. “We always saw Skinner Street as the Portobello Road of Yorkshire, it’s a fabulous place and it’s turning into something quite interesting with the new microbreweries, and the renowned Botham's (of Whitby) bakery is right behind our house.”

Communications director Murray ran RJH Public Relations with Sophie, Duchess of Cornwall, in the Nineties. Their business relationship ended after they were targeted by the News of the World’s ‘fake sheikh’ reporter in 2001.

Since then, he has primarily lived on the south coast of England before briefly moving to Glasgow.

He and his partner, Derek, discovered the spacious two-storey apartment, just behind Whitby harbour and only one street away from his beloved Skinner Street, in 2023.

The Victorian property on Silver Street was a rundown holiday let that required a lot of refurbishment.

"When you look at holiday lets in Whitby, most of them tend to be small, boxy rooms and this one is really quite big and airy so it’s quite unique,” says Murray.

He adds: "It’s very central, we’re just behind the harbour. You’ve got Skinner Street down one way and at the other end you’ve got Flowergate with all the pubs down there. I love it.”

As soon as they received the keys, the couple began transforming the property into their own style. "We’ve redecorated the whole place from top to bottom,” says Murray.

The look is bold and stylish, with the decor primarily inspired by their favourite pieces of artwork by French industrialist artist L Morlom and Kent-based artist Natalie Bennett.

"We didn’t want a traditional Whitby holiday home here,” says Murray. “The intention was to stay here full time so we wanted to create something that was stylish and different from what else is in town.

"There’s a lot of artwork that we move with us from house to house and it sets the tone for the home.”

The green dining room, however, was modelled on a scene from the film Halloween. "There’s a scene where they’re in a really dark dining room and that’s what we wanted to do with it,” says Murray. “When you look at what the room was like before, it was awful and now every time anyone walks into it, they say ‘oh this is nice’. It’s just got such a good feeling to it.”

Downstairs, the property includes a hallway, two reception rooms, a new kitchen and a hidden pantry. Upstairs are two bright and airy bedrooms plus a bathroom.

The apartment has its own private entrance and there is a small rear yard outside, offering an outdoor retreat.

Other recent work includes panelling the hallway, installing new carpets upstairs, and adding wooden flooring downstairs. The couple also installed new windows and external doors as well as a Hive smart thermostat, which Murray says has saved them money.

Outside, they painted the front, laid new paving stones, built a shed and installed CCTV.

Whitby is one of the most sought after places for holidays and short breaks on the coast with exceptional views and beaches.

The only issue now is that the town is now packed out in spring and summer and property prices have soared leaving some full time residents struggling to get on the property ladder.

According to Rightmove, properties in Whitby had an overall average price of £261,312 over the last year.

The majority of properties sold in the town were terraced properties, selling for an average price of £237,670. Semi-detached properties sold for an average of £262,645, with flats fetching £179,936.

Overall, the sold prices in Whitby over the last year were three per cent up on the previous year and two per cent down on the 2022 peak of £267,301.

The property in Silver Street is marketed at both owner occupiers and investors as a buy-to-let.

There is a holiday let above the flat, which Murray says is occupied at least four out of seven days every week of the year.

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The couple are moving back to Scotland for family reasons and, according to Murray, are sorry to leave Whitby.

"It attracts extraordinary people during Goth Weekend and the Steampunk Weekend. We just think this place is amazing,” he says.

He adds: “It’s a very lively place, there’s an awful lot going on. I loved Whitby before but living here, it’s exceeded my expectations.

"My only criticism is the parking but the people here are delightful, they’re very can-do, especially the trades people who have helped us with the flat.”

According to Murray, Whitby is at its best when the sea mist rolls into town. "My favourite thing about Whitby is when the mist comes in and you can’t see more than about five feet in front of you. It’s beautiful,” he says.

No.15 Silver Street, Whitby, is on the market with a guide price of £249,999 with Hope & Braim estate agents hopeandbraimestateagents.co.uk