Whitby Museum

Whitby's town museum is an Edwardian delight, packed full of glass cases housing an incredible array of historical and archeological curios, from giant Jurassic-era marine fossils (some of the best-preserved in England) to South Seas souvenirs brought back by Captain Cook's crew. It's an absolute hit with kids, who are entranced – if not completely spooked – by the mummified ‘Hand of Glory’, supposedly cut from the arm of an executed criminal. Or check out the 'Tempest Prognosticator', a nineteenth-century state-of-the-art barometer powered by, erm, leeches...Safe to say, this is one museum where boredom is unlikely to set in.