One of the most picturesque and interesting seaside towns in England. It stands at the mouth of the Esk, while behind it are the North Yorkshire Moors. Its red-roofed fishermen's cottages cluster close together on the side of a steep cliff 200 feet high, at the top of which stand the magnificent ruins of the Great Abbey, where once stood a Nunnery in 657. Here was held in 664 the famous Synod, which settled the date of Easter and established the supremacy of Roman ritual above the Celtic. Captain Cook lived here and sailed from the port in the Endeavour in 1768, and the Resolution and Adventure were also built here. The town's great trade was whaling and making oil from the blubber. There is a Captain Cook Memorial Museum and a fascinating town museum. Lifeboat museum contains last rowing lifeboat in the Country.