Whitby's Whale Bones  Memorial

No visit to Rosedale Abbey is complete without a day-trip down to the coast at Whitby; just 25-minutes drive away across the beautiful North York Moors.

And no visit to Whitby is complete without a visit to the historic Whale Jaw-bone Arch above Khyber Pass on the West Cliff.

Whitby's Memorial to the Greenland Whaling Industry.

It's just such an iconic spot; with great views over the harbour, old town, and towards Whitby Abbey.

And the bones make the perfect "frame" for a lovely photograph of Whitby.

The Whale Jaw-Bone Arch is a monument to the fishermen and town merchants of the Whitby Whaling Company.

Founded in 1753, the company rose to operate 55 whaling ships in total; sailing from the harbour below the Arch to the cold waters off Greenland.

The whaling industry came to an end in 1837 by which time almost 2,775 whales were returned to Whitby where the blubber was rendered down into valuable oil.

The original Whale Jaw-bone was donated to Whitby by Norwegian Thor Dhal and the artist Graham Leach in 1963 as a monument to Whitby's famous whaling history.

The bones were replaced in 2002 by a new set of whale jaw bones donated by the town of Anchorage in Alaska.

The View to Sandsend Nab from the Whale Bone Arch in Whitby.