The North Yorkshire Coast is steeped in history, known as being the home of Captain Cook and Bram Stoker’s count Dracula, which is why Whitby’s Goth Weekend is so popular.

Bram Stoker was inspired by the Abbey during his stay on the North Yorkshire Coast. Now tourists enjoy going on the Dracula Experience although the iconic St Mary’s church - whose cemetery was mentioned in Bram Stoker's epistolary Gothic novel about the vampire - has had to put up a polite notice reminding visitors of the character's fictional status and that he is not buried in the graveyard.

Nonetheless visitors can experience a touch of Dracula spirit with the many themed Dracula places such as The Dracula Rooms gothic-themed guest house and visiting Bram Stoker’s bench.

Trillo’s of Whitby have even designed a black ice cream, one visitor said on TripAdvisor: “What can I say about the black ice cream? It came in a beautiful black and gold colour. The ice cream was literally jet black. Without a doubt it is probably the nicest vanilla ice cream I have ever eaten.“It turned my red lipstick black!“I got the soft serve black ice cream near the whale bones and sat on the harbour to enjoy it.Trillos is a must visit.”

You can also get vanilla ice cream dipped in Jet Black Whitby dust from Truly Scrumptious on the seafront.

Or if you want something ‘jet black’ to wear you can check out one of the many jet jewellery shops. It is from Whitby where the phrase ‘jet black’ comes from.

You could also go fossil hunting on the beaches of Whitby as well as in nearby Robin’s Hood Bay. Whitby Beach stretches all the way to Sandsend. The area is synonymous with fishing and crabbing as well as hopping on the RNLI Lifeboat museum.

A good rainy day activity would be visiting Whitby Museum, Captain Cook Memorial Museum or the Museum of Victorian Science.

Other locals mentioned their favourite fish and chips shops to go to as well as to head to Skinner St to Botham’s tea rooms where you can grab a Whitby Lemon Bun although they’re freshly made so once they’re gone they’re gone.Instead we devoured a Yorkshire scone.

If you’ve explored the town you may fancy venturing further afield to the Falling Foss Tea Room and waterfall for a cake and a splash or hop on the North Yorkshire Moors Steam Railway.

You can hop aboard an iconic steam train from Whitby station to visit Grosmont, Pickering and the famous Goathland railway station which was used to film Hogsmeade railway station in the early Harry Potter films and the line filmed for Harry's journey.

Whether you fancy taking a historic tour of the area or something a little more adventurous like bungee jumping over the River Esk, it’s sure to be a memorable staycation.

Places to go in Whitby: Jet black ice cream, climbing the Abbey steps and the best beaches