Illuminated Whitby: Whitby Abbey won't be lit up this weekend as storms Austen and Boelo hit
Whitby Abbey will not be lit up this weekend as part of the Illuminated Whitby event due to the storms set to hit over the coming days.
Bosses at Whitby Abbey said they were “incredibly sorry” that changes to the planned events were forced due to “severe weather conditions”.
The Illuminated Whitby event is run by English Heritage, which looks after the site, and is set to run until October 31.
However, over the weekend, the iconic structure will no longer be lit up and access to the site will be restricted.
The Whitby Abbey site will be open “in the daytime” today (Oct 23) but will close at 2pm tomorrow (Oct 24) and not open at all on Sunday (Oct 25).
A statement from English Heritage said: “This is not a decision we've taken lightly and we're hugely disappointed, especially for everyone who was looking forward to visiting this weekend. However, the safety of our visitors, staff and volunteers must always come first.
“We sincerely apologise for any disappointment or inconvenience this may cause.
“If you have pre-booked tickets for Illuminated Whitby Abbey, these will be automatically refunded within 10 working days and you don't need to do anything further.
“We will re-assess the situation on Monday morning for the week ahead and provide a further update then.”