Wynd Cottage - Self Catering Holiday Cottage details

Scroll down for full details of Wynd Cottage Whitby in its restored condition, fully equipped as a cosy holiday cottage.

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And if you are in interested in the Restoration or History:

Wynd Cottage a Place in History

Wynd Cottage, 45 Cliff Street, Whitby

Wynd Cottage is a deceptively spacious, stone built cottage. From the front on Cliff Street it is difficult to see how it can sleep 6 with three bedrooms and have two living rooms plus a bathroom and kitchen. The small dormer window is the only clue that the attic space is used. The iron gate at the side leads through to a passage way giving semi-private access to the back door, terrace and the top of Mission Hall Yard. It's what you and only a few others can see from the back that makes this cottage so special.

Cliff Street at this point is a narrow, 20 mph, one way street. There is usually more pedestrian traffic than vehicles so a quick drop off or pick up at the door rarely bothers other drivers. For longer unloading or loading you can stop just a little further down the road where other vehicles can pass.

If you are on foot coming from train or bus station it's no more than a 10 minute walk. It is up-hill though, so it's handy that the taxi ranks are next to the stations if you want to save carting your luggage.

Just a quick note on Cliff Street; the upper part of Cliff Street where the cottage is situated, is also know as The Mount. Cliff Street was called Cliff Lane until Victorian traders objected so it was renamed as Street as it sounded “better”. Prior to that we had Wind Lane (or Wynd Lane in old spelling). Hence Wynd Cottage. There is also mention of Russell Lane or Russell Lands. See Whitby History section for more.

Welcome in !

We'll send you info about the keys before you arrive, the arrangements should suit any arrival time day or night.

Welcome in to Wynd Cottage and your first choice to explore the cottage. Down the small stone flagged hall way, mind out for the two small steps, stow your walking stick, cane or brolly, hang up your cloak and make your way in to the distant past. Or venture up the stairs for a more Georgian period.

We are looking for a boot scraper that will fit at the side of the door, not quite so necessary now that the road is paved and not just a muddy track. In the mean time kids, it's how the wee free folk get in and out. The knocker and old letter plate aren't from around here but we thought the Bat appropriate for all things Gothic, don't expect any invites, missives or calling cards through it, it's only for knocking now.

Back in time to the downstairs living / dining room

This room was fully upgraded back in the day (1600ish) when chimneys and smoke hoods were the latest new technology for the homes of the more affluent. Gone are the days when the smoke from your cooking fire just drifted up and out through the thatch. This allowed a second floor to be added, hence the timber beams. Since then further upgrades included a surround added in the inglenook, modifications for a Victorian range and now a wood burning stove. The floor went from packed earth to flags to concrete and now to solid oak boards. At some point the wind holes enlarged to become a window and the side wall was added to create the passageway.

More recent upgrades have seen LED's doing away with whale oil lamps and the HD TV occasionally substitutes for talking to each other, singing shanties and telling tales.

Dining, relaxing and talking around a table

The table extends to seat eight comfortably. If you need to, extra chairs can be brought down from upstairs. This can be the hub of the cottage, close to the kettle (fridge or drinks cabinet) where you can all get together and enjoy each others company. In the evening, with the curtains shut, it's a cosy place to relax, especially on the window seat. In the morning the early risers can get on with their day whilst the sleepers waste half theirs undisturbed upstairs.

You shouldn't need to use the log burning stove as the cottage has got full gas central heating, but what better on a cold winters evening or after an out of season dip in the sea than a real fire to warm your cockles. Full instruction on how to light and use the stove safely are in the cottage, there may be some logs available but please replenish the pile from the quality suppliers we have listed.

Step out back

The view from the dining room window of the Abbey and Church is partly obscured by the cottage behind but move over to the back door and you get a nicely framed view. Stepping out to your left is the outside WC / Cloakroom off the passageway; at your side is the outer back door. The outer door is normally left open but can be shut if you need to or during bad weather. As others use the passage don't be surprised to see people walking past the back door.

Outside on the left is the washhouse with the washer / dryer and a bit of storage space; the key will available to you. To your right is the path known as Mission Hall yard leading down to the Harbour. The steps are uneven and can be overgrown so be careful if you a little "unsteady". In front is the gate to the terrace.

P.S. That strange looking copper sculpture on the wall is actually a radiator inspired by the sails of Captain Cook's ship the Endeavor.

All that a good kitchen needs, close at hand

The small but well equipped kitchen is straight off the dining room. Closing the door in the old timber panelled dividing wall shuts you off in your little culinary heaven. Or in other words, yes you can keep little ones out when you are busy with the hot stuff.

It took some creative design, bespoke units and some very careful measurements to fit in all the facilities an enthusiast cook might want on holiday, but we did it.

The window faces the road and the stone wall of the dance school (the old Mount School), so not much to see from here apart from the often weird and wonderful people passing by. For privacy the window has nets for during the day and roller blind for the night.

Cottage Kitchen

When it's a cottage this old the description "traditional cottage kitchen" doesn't apply. If it was traditional us modern folk wouldn't be able to cope. Instead the kitchen is a modern kitchen sympathetically fitted in to the space available.

The five gas ring range cooker has two electric ovens so you can cope with anything from heating a pizza to cooking a full Sunday roast. We have included all the crockery and cutlery you might expect for family meals and entertaining (For fire safety reasons we don't provide a deep fat fryer). Nobody wants to be washing up on holiday so there's a full sized dishwasher.

Behind the microwave, toaster and slow cooker you see an old blocked off door. This used to open into the passageway. Why? What for? There is some speculation that the ground floor may once have been divided off from the upper floors and used as some kind of commercial premises or a separate dwelling. This door may have been the entrance.

Plenty of holiday storage

The bespoke cupboards and shelving will hold all your holiday supplies and give plenty of worktop space.

Many people prefer to dine out, taking advantage of the many restaurants within walking distance. Obviously it's entirely up to you how you like to holiday. As the cottage caters for families there is is large fridge freezer so a "big shop" can be a money saver for many. Sainsbury's and Co-op will deliver if you want to leave your car parked.

Back through and up

The cupboard under the stairs holds all the bits and bobs you don't want out in plain view - vacuum, bags, cleaning stuff, ironing board and iron. The hallway has hooks for your coats and a radiator under, useful for drying when the weather's a bit wet. The door curtain swings across to give total privacy in the evening whilst making an attractive feature during the day.

The straight flight of stairs are slightly steeper than modern standards but not by much. With the handrails they won't be a problem for anyone who can manage stairs. The small landing at the top leads to the sitting room.

Whitby cottage sitting room

The first flight of stairs brings you to the sitting room, you will come through the door to the right of the fireplace. The door on the left is to a cupboard where you will find all the bits to feed the 4K Ultra high definition television. There is a Playstation 3 for games, CD's DVD's and Blu Rays; please bring your own discs so you can be sure to have entertainment to your tastes. Alternatively, as with all the televisions in the cottage, this TV is a smart one so you can log in to your own Netflix, Amazon or other streaming service.*

The Wifi Router is also in this cupboard. Please see the note in the cupboard for the wireless password so you can connect your tablets, phones or laptops to the high-speed broadband wireless network.*

The wood burning stove in the sitting room is for show only; as well as being a bit messy to use, the TV may not be able to handle the heat it generates. The central heating will keep you warm enough whatever the weather.

*note: The wireless internet access is not included with rental of Wynd Cottage. If it is available you can use it for free. We will do what we can to make it available but sometimes availability and speed is out of our control.

Spacious holiday cottage sitting room

The sitting room is spacious and will seat five in comfort. The tub chairs can be shifted to suit how you want to use the room. For a film night the TV is high enough so the tub chairs can go in front of the settee giving you a cinema style set up.

The door on the right leads to the bathroom. The door on the left leads to the double bedroom. Finally there's one more door that leads to the spiral stairs to the attic bedrooms. This can be kept shut if you are taking advantage of a "sleeps 2" off peak discount.

Cottage room with a view

The table and chairs by the window makes a pleasant spot to sit and write, read or take tea. Glancing out occasionally to check the tide or the state of the sea, see the climbers on the 199 steps or check the weather coming up the Esk and over the North Yorkshire moors. The view straight across the harbour is partially blocked by the roof of the cottage behind, but there's binoculars and a "pirate" style antique telescope to focus on anything that attracts your attention.

Period Features

The cottage is packed with period features, virtually everywhere you look. In the sitting room it's the Georgian timber panelled walls that takes the lead. These had been covered over in many layers for about a hundred years, uncovering them was a joy. The wood is painted to match the colour we found under some dark Victorian scumble glazed wood effect.

Holiday cottage bathroom

You will probably never get a better view while cleaning your teeth. The Abbey, Church, Harbour and Lifeboat all straight in front of the window and basin.

The main feature of the bathroom is the base of the cruck frame. This is a timber "A" frame that was a traditional construction method dating back a thousand years or more and falling out of fashion in the 1600's.

The high flush toilet has been hand built to fit the space; if you know what "steampunk" is you will probably appreciate the Victoriana styling.

The roll top bath is perfect for a deep soak or you can shower under the "monsoon shower head" for a refreshing drenching. The shower also has a hand held head, useful for washing the kids hair or hosing them down. The radiator / towel warmer has an additional electric element to keep your towels aired even when the central heating is off.

Please note: Trowels are not supplied. If you are traveling light and need some please let us know in advance, we can provide them at £20 per bail (1 bath sheet, 1 bath towel, 1 hand towel and a face cloth).

Cottage double bedroom

A full size double bed* built in to to make best use of the space, and the historically uneven floor. The headboard is made from what we believe to be a Jacobean bit of joinery that may have been part of chest. Behind the bed is the other leg of the half cruck frame. The outer wall is stone and reveals the timber lintels; the overall effect is very characterful, even without a good view.

The wardrobe, just behind the photographer, is spacious, with drawers underneath. The foot of the bed is open with space for shoes and luggage. Fitted to the wall at the right of the bed is a LCD TV for terrestrial and internet TV. USB connections are easily accessible if you want to bring any content on a Memory stick.

As this double bedroom is on the first floor, accessed by a straight staircase this room might be ideal if you have limited mobility. The other bedrooms are accessed via a spiral stair, we come to that next.

* All mattresses in the cottage are well respected hotel / contract grade locally manufactured by Beavers of Whitby. They are medium firm and fitted with soft mattress toppers. We find them very comfortable. The Duvets are 10.5 tog and pillows of synthetic non allergenic fibre. All bedding is provided.

Spiral stair to the top landing

The top floor and two bedrooms are up the spiral staircase. Although, possibly a couple of hundred or more years old the tread and going would pass the latest building regs. So it isn't the difficult kind of staircase you sometimes find in old cottages. If you keep to the right at the top there is headroom for 6 footers, the ceiling slopes to the left under a dormer window leaving a a useful storage area for luggage.

The slopes in the wall at the side of the stairs used to be the gable end before the roofline was raised and the adjoining Georgian house was built. We are using the shelf this makes for a selection of Whitby related books, pamphlets and maps.

Whitby Cottage twin bedroom

Twin beds are fitted in either side of the chimney stack, these have drawers fitted underneath. There is a dresser with more drawers for additional storage and a couple of hooks on the wall if you do need some hanging space.

Being on the back the views are absolutely spectacular. A view sometime wasted on the kids as the room also has a flat screen, internet enabled TV.

Master bedroom or another twin

The master bedroom has those fantastic views out to sea and over the harbour, so good that the chair comes in handy if you can't drag yourself away.

The the top of the timber cruck frame gives the room bags of character as well as the sloping ceilings of the attic space The headroom is good in the centre, those over about 5' 11" might need to duck a little through the doorway.

Like the other bedrooms there's a top spec television. Storage for your holiday clothes is plentiful with the wardrobe, chest of drawers and bedside cabinets.

King size or twin

The bed is normally configured as Kingsize width (not quite full king length to give a bit more standing space). On request this can be unzipped and separated to give two 2" 6' single beds. This flexibility can suit various families or groups: Holiday Cottage sleeps 6, one double, two twin rooms or two double beds and one twin room.

Out of the back door

From the downstairs dining room the back door leads to the top of Mission Hall Yard, a passage to Cliff Street, the outside WC / Cloakroom, Wash house and the terrace.

Outside space is at premium in the heart of Whitby and totally private outside space even rarer. Mission Hall Yard is not what you might think of as a "yard", it's a path that leads from the iron gate at the front of the cottage to a lane / path at the foot of the cliff next to the harbour front called The Cragg. Mission Hall Yard isn't an public right of way but it gives private access to the cottages behind and below us. Having said that it's not a public route, there are a few friendly locals who know about it and use the route and we do get some tourist explorers coming from below who are looking to see where it leads. Many turn back when it looks like they are at a private dead end, others may ask if there is a way through. It's all part of being in one of the oldest parts of Whitby. The passage door is normally left open but feel free to close it if required especially if it's a bit stormy.

The outside WC with hand basin comes in handy especially when you have a full house. The high flush cistern is the original, late Victorian bit of technology. They don't make them like that anymore!

Terrace with a fantastic view

(definitely needs a new picture)

This little bit of outside space with its stunning view across the harbour is an obvious plus for Wynd Cottage. There's space for the patio table and six chairs (four stored in the table). In full sunshine in the morning and partial sun in to the afternoon in summer.

Outside space

The terrace area has an outside light for evening enjoyment of the space. The wash house has the washer / dryer, it's also a useful space to store your beach clobber.

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