Moan, moan, moan, bloody moan, can someone please tell me one pub/ town based festival where pubs actually change their pricing policy for a festival? No! you are simply paying the going rate in the area the same as the locals pay all year.
OK Green field festivals charge what they like, some cheap but most are more expensive. The gripe about soft drinks is legitimate and landlords / tenants / managers should be careful in this respect as all customers regular and transient resent being ripped off in this way.
Paid £ 4.00 for a pint of Guinness in a town centre before now so don't think Whitby is at all exorbitant and the beer is much better kept.
Witherspoons, might be cheap but never had a decent pint in one yet, breakfasts usually good value though!
As for the food well you can all see the price list before ordering, and Whitby is no better and no worse than any other place. Personally a superb fish, mushy peas and a rake of chips for less than a fiver represents good value to me, especially taking into account the frozen reconstituted shite that you get inland for well over a fiver in many places, cooked in fat that probably once ran a small car, or does it just taste that way normally??
Bearing in mind that most people have a week of FREE entertainment what's the bloody problem?
Peter.