These famous steps in Whitby are called 199 Steps! Why you may ask? Is there actually 199? Why are they there? And why are they famous? All good questions and people have, believe or not, been asking these questions for many many years. I'll take you on a journey, step by step. 🤣

1. So they're there because it's bloody steep up the hill to the church and abbey. Walking Church Lane, a grade 1 listed cobbled donkey track beside the stairs, is like walking up a wall! Some historians believe that St Hilda (local saint) would use the steps as a test to confirm the faith of her followers. As St Mary’s Church sits directly atop the steps.
2. As if people haven't got anything better to do there is some dispute about exactly how many steps there are! Some say there are 198 steps because, they believe, you shouldn't count the final step as this is not a step but the top! Other equally onerous people believe there to be 200 steps because of the step from the bottom onto Church Street! Other whinge bags believe that their count while climbing and out of breath is the only accurate measure and spam debate and literature with random numbers like 191 steps even though every 10th step, and the last, are now numbered with Roman numerals so you don't have to count them any more!
3. Whatever you believe '199' sounds nice and invites challenge, and people have taken up that challenge since the 1300s. And that is one of the reasons for their fame. The other is that Dracula ran up the steps in Bram Stoker’s novel. After the shipwreck, Dracula runs up the famed 199 steps to the graveyard at St Mary’s Church in the shape of a black dog, forever linking the town with vampires and making the stairs just as immortal. No matter if you come to climb or count the steps, feel literature first hand or use the car park at the top of the hill. The view of the town and harbour from the stairs is not to be missed and if you can persuade your family to climb up them and sit on a step and wait while you take a photograph in the sunset even better 😀