Cool Places
Whitby Museum
Pannett Park Whitby YO21 1RE
Whitby's town museum is an Edwardian delight, packed full of glass cases housing an incredible array of historical and archeological curios, from giant Jurassic-era marine fossils (some of the best-preserved in England) to South Seas souvenirs brought back by Captain Cook's crew. It's an absolute hit with kids, who are entranced – if not completely spooked – by the mummified ‘Hand of Glory’, supposedly cut from the arm of an executed criminal. Or check out the 'Tempest Prognosticator', a nineteenth-century state-of-the-art barometer powered by, erm, leeches...Safe to say, this is one museum where boredom is unlikely to set in.
