It’s been a few years since we headed to Whitby Steampunk in summer. We go to the Winter event in February every year without fail!

So this July we jumped in the car and took the 2 hour journey to the coast to get our steampunk fix. This one will be different I thought, we have a 2 year old now!

We set off far too late in the day for us. Normally we are out by 10am at the latest but this time it was gone 11am and we found ourselves stuck in traffic jams with the start of the school holidays. We only had ourselves to blame! For the first time we had decided to book accommodation and make a weekend of it but unfortunately we had to cancel this to save some pennies. So another day trip it was for us.

We took our 2 year old toddler Hilda and our XL pooch Newkee because we love to visit as a family.

When we finally made it to Whitby we headed straight for Whitby Pavillion where the Steampunk event was held.

We were hungry and flustered, a usual case for us travelling with a giant wolf and toddler, so we sat down for a drink and some lunch. We got seats in a spot with a beautiful sea view across the beach. After a little while a man came to talk to us and said we live on the same street! We couldn’t believe it. Such a small world that we drive 2 hours out of the way to find a Steampunk stallholder who lives a few doors down! It was his first Whitby Steampunk and it’s great to find a fellow alternative quirky character living on our very street!

We had a blast interacting with people. Our dog starts a lot of conversation just by simply being herself. Now that we’ve been attending Whitby Steampunk for 6 years we have even begun to see familiar faces over the years.

Our family tradition is to have our photograph taken in the Pavilion. Previously it has been with P&K Making Memories but recently it has been with Thru The Lens. Both have been absolutely fantastic and even do the photos for free! We have been collecting them and lining our stairway with the photos since the beginning.

Getting our dog and kiddo to sit still is not as easy as it looks!

I can’t wait to see how these turn out! The photos I have of our two when they were younger are some of my favourite ever photos and I have Steampunk Weekend to thank for that.

After our mug shots we headed over to the Pirate corner. I believe they were there to advertise Whitby Pirate Weekend in August but I must admit this was already in our calendar! Our 2 year old has developed an obsession for pirates recently and she was beyond excited to see so many pirates amongst the steampunks.

I can’t believe how long she walked around with her pirate eye patch on! It’s no wonder we get so much attention isn’t it?

We ended the day with another wander in to Whitby meeting more pirates.

When we arrived at the famous archway the parade started. We’ve never seen the parade before and didn’t even know about it! We normally get there early and have left by now so this was a nice surprise. I love sitting by the wishbones looking out towards Whitby Abbey. It’s such a beautiful view!

Finally we headed for my favourite spot a local shop called The Yorkshire Deli. They do the greatest Hefty Slabs of Flapjack by Rustic Baking Company! I first discovered these when she sold them over at the little market in Whitby square. Now she has moved to a store it means we can get them every time we visit Whitby! It makes the journey home that little bit sweeter. You can find the store on Pier Road right in the centre of town on the same side as The Pavilion.

Another successful trip to Whitby and we will be back in no time with the Pirate Festival coming up this month. But just as we say every single year… Next time we will have to get some costumes!

~ Visited Whitby in July 2025 ~