Pretty As A Picture

Unlike some places on the Yorkshire coast, idyllic Staithes retains an air of unspoilt mystery, says Tony Greenway

I don’t know why it’s so surprising to find an American working in an olde worlde sweet shop in Staithes. But it is. Even more surprising is that Jon Kilpatrick, who originally comes from Minnesota, USA, didn’t know much about this lovely North Yorkshire seaside village until he moved here 18 months ago. Jon’s wife, Jane, was born and raised in Staithes (‘as was her mum and her mum’s mum,’ he says) but when she first showed him a picture of its higgledy-piggledy, picturesque streets and snickets, he thought it was, to borrow a phrase, fake news. ‘I said to her “Come on! That’s NOT a real place! That’s a movie set”’ he remembers.

As Jon later discovered, Staithes is real all right. I can vouch for its authenticity, too. I’ve just walked down the ridiculously steep hill into the old village (visitors have to park their cars at the top) and my legs are screaming at me. Goodness knows what they’ll be like on the climb back up. Still, having to stop every now and then to catch your breath gives you more time to admire that spectacular sea view and those incredible, rugged, soaring cliffs.

Jon works at Betsy & Bo, one of the first shops you come to at the foot of the hill, which, for years, was Staithes’ general store. Jon and Jane also run the Roraima B&B at the top end of the village; a house built in the 1890s by the local sea captain John Trattles, and named after his steamship, the SS Roraima.