Whitby is right in the middle of some of the best Mesozoic marine sedimentary deposits in the world, in cliffs that also have occasion lagoonal facies containing the bones of and tracks of dinosaurs (there are some ankylosaurid footprints just outside the town towards Saltwick Nab - watch the tides though!).

These are fine fossiling grounds and Mrs Stigweard and myself have spent many happy hours on the beaches and had some good finds.

The best selection of fossils aavailable are not from the shops in the town, but from Yorkshire Coast Fossils, run by Mike Marshall. Mike has prepped several fossils for me and the guy is an artist. One of the countries leading palaeontologists once told me he thought Mike was the best fossil preparator in the country (he's also an excellent lapidarist).

On top of this he's just a hell of a nice chap with unrivalled local knowledge and he's always happy to help, hence the recommendation.

Plus the Wit's End Cafe at Sandsend is fantastic, serving best cup of coffee in Yorkshire, and excellent whelks are available from the fish shop in the town (and don't forget those freshly smoked kippers).