The Black Horse, Whitby

Everyone has their favourite Whitby pub, like everyone has their favourite Whitby fish and chip shop, and if you haven’t checked out the Black Horse yet you might just be about to update your list. It’s on cobbled Church Street in the heart of the old town and is a classic of its kind – two tiny bars awash with stained glass and original features, and a roster of craft beers, gins and rums with amusing names and alluring back-stories. There’s barely room to swing a ship’s cat; even so dogs are welcome in both bars. Grab a table if you can and you can sample what we will forgive them for calling ‘yapas’ – Yorkshire tapas – which runs the gamut from local cheeses and pork pie to mussels, cockles and prawns. Disentangle yourself from dog’s leads and other people’s limbs and you can stroll out of the front door and up the famous 199 Steps to the ancient abbey on the headland for windswept views. If you fancy staying longer, there are four comfy rooms upstairs – again, there’s not much space but they’re equipped with all you need. Breakfast isn’t available but that hardly matters in Whitby, where every second place is a café.