From the bottom of East Cliff one ascends by 199 steps to the abbey, which was founded in (circa) 658.  Its first abbess was the saintly Lady Hilda.  During her rule, the poor cowherd, Caedmon, sleeping among the cattle, being ashamed that he could not take harp and sing among the rest, had his wonderful dream.  An angel appeared to him and told him to sing the Beginning of the Creation.  Immediately the cowherd went to the Abbess Hilda and sang his song.  He became our first English poet.

In 870 the abbey and town were destroyed by the Danes.  The ecclesiastical buildings were deserted for two hundred years, but the town was rebuilt and prospered.  The foundations of the present buildings were laid in 1220, and the abbey flourished till the Dissolution, when it was despoiled.  Even in its ruinous condition it is a marvellous specimen of Gothic architecture.  The choir, with its north aisle and transept, parts of the north aisle, and the west front are standing.

The Parish Church of St. Mary is worth a visit because of its extreme age (it dates from Norman times) and its quaint ugliness.  Whitby built the ship in which Captain Cook sailed round the world.  The house where he served his apprenticeship to a shipbuilder is in Grape Lane.  The jet works are only carried on to a limited extent.  In the Scaur, below East Cliff, ammonites are to be found.

A charge of threepence is made for admission to the abbey.

[Illustration:  Photochrom Co., Ltd.

WHITBY.

The old town from across the harbour.]

CARNARVON CASTLE

=How to get there.=—­Train from Euston.  L. and N.W.  Railway. =Nearest Station.=—­Carnarvon. =Distance from London.=—­246 miles. =Average Time.=—­Varies between 7 and 9-1/2 hours.

                     1st 2nd 3rd
=Fares.=—­Single 39s. 11d. 22s. 9d. 20s. 7-1/2d. 
          Return 72s. 0d. 38s. 6d. 35s. 0d.

=Accommodation Obtainable.=—­“Royal Hotel,” “Royal Sportsman
  Hotel,” “Castle Hotel,” “Queen’s Hotel,” “Prince of Wales
  Hotel,” “Arvonia Hotel,” etc.
=Alternative Route.=—­From Paddington via Chester, 282 miles.  Fares
  as from Euston.

The town of Carnarvon is situated on the east side of the Menai Straits, close by the side of the Roman station of Segontium, which was connected with Chester by Watling Street.  There is said to have been a fortress here shortly after the Conquest, but the real beginning of the importance of Carnarvon was the erection of the magnificent castle there by Edward I., immediately after his conquest of the principality.  The work was commenced in 1283, and occupied more than ten years.  In 1284, the birth of Edward II., the first Prince of Wales, took place at Carnarvon.  During the Civil War the castle changed hands several times; at length, in 1646, it was taken and held by the Parliamentary forces under General Mytton.