We'll be in York for two nights in early June. "We" is me and two grandsons, 10 and 14.

Based on great ideas from a recent thread, i thought going to Whitby for a day --via public transportation bus and train (no driving)--would be fun for the boys and interesting for me. As a frequent visitor to Hawaii, I'd love to see the town from which he set sail.

The water will surely be too cold for swimming, but can anyone recommend a particular beach in easy walking distance within or just outside the town, that is good for building sand castles, toe-deep wading, working off energy, perhaps a nearby cafe for lunch or tea?

Thank you!!

Yes, Whitby's town beaches are suitable for your grandsons to paddle and make sandcastles, weather permitting. It can be rather windy on the North Sea coast, and often sea mist can descend.
http://www.whitbyonline.co.uk/whitby...hitby-beaches/
Magpie Cafe is the best known eatery in town, but line can be long. Voted one of the best places for fish and chips.

Thanks for your reply and info, Alec. We want to take the steam train past the "Harry Potter" train station, after suggestion by Fodorite JanisJ
Have been reading up on the best fish and chips, incluidng Magpie. Thanks for the tip about hte queue. A place called Quayside that i read about too, near the pier and with good views ... do you know it?
Above, i meant Captain Cook, in case anyone's wondering who t "he" is!!

CaliNurse, there is a very good Captain Cook Museum in Whitby also.

It is really difficult to plan anything around our weather. The past 5 years have been totally unpredictable. This year early May was the warmest with temperatures in the mid 80s.

September has quite simply been awful with us getting the muddled up messes of dead hurricanes. This week is is forecast to be in the high 70s with little wind.

Whitby is lovely just be careful with the tides they have a large range and move quickly.

Hi
To make the experience for your grandsons even more exciting, they might like to read the Whitby Witches series of children's books before their visit.
www.robinjarvis.com/whitbyhome.html
Humble Pie and Mash is an excellent and inexpensive place for lunch, alternatively there's plenty of fish and chip shops. Trenchers is very good, although the Magpie is the 'famous' one.
www.humblepienmash.com
www.trenchersrestaurant.co.uk
There's a Captain Cook Museum in the town.
www.cookmuseumwhitby.co.uk
You could also include a trip on the North Yorks Moors Railway (bus to Pickering from York, train to Whitby)
www.nymr.co.uk

Alec, thanks again for your reply, which got me happily searching the web for seaside area chippies.

Humpty, thank you for the warning about weather and tides. I will prepare the boys...but i know it will be fun,no matter what! Nothing like a cold blustery day for them to get a sense of what their Dad's ancestors survived (albeit in Manchester, not Yorkshire)

Jenny, and Morgana, thank you for the tip about the Captain Cook museum!! It's a "must-do" for us Hawaii lovers, and anyone who knows Captain Cook's famous line which is used by Capt Kirk in Star Trek. I must re-read "Blue Latitudes."

Morgana, thank you for the recommenation of the Robin Jarvis series.!! I've ordered all three of the Whitby books!!! My 14 yr old grandson LOVES that kind of novel.
Janis J recommended that train, and glad to see you second it. Ir goes by the "Harry Potter" village train statin at Goathland. And Humble Pie...yummm. We'll have to hit that place for a good meat pie, as well as one of the fish and chips places.

I love the thought of taking the kids to a British seaside town that is not (yet) "Yuppified."