Staithes Museum

Other coastal and moorland attractions tend to focus on one theme. Here the story is deliberately eclectic and hyper-local: the fishing trade, the mines, the lifeboat tradition, the Staithes Group of artists including Dame Laura Knight, Methodism in the village, and Cook's apprenticeship all sit within a few rooms. The building itself is part of the appeal, a chapel repurposed as a village archive.

Displays are rotated and rearranged over time, so treat any single item as a bonus rather than a guarantee.

• Fishing gear and equipment, some labelled in Staithes dialect, plus historic tools and memorabilia
• Model ships, including material on Cook's voyages and the replica Endeavour
• Ammonites, fossils and finds from the sea, coins, stamps and sailors' scrimshaw
• A life-size reconstruction of the street and shop where Cook worked, along with his original shop shutter
• Photo galleries of village life, prints, paintings and local portraits
• Films on local history and lobster-pot making, and themed quizzes upstairs that children often enjoy

• The volunteers are the real draw. Ask questions; they know the families, boats and mines behind the cases.
• There is a small gift and craft shop inside.
• Dogs are welcome.
• Access: three steps up to the entrance with a handrail, then a level ground floor. The upstairs gallery is reached by stairs only, so part of the collection is out of reach if you cannot manage them.
• The museum sits in the dense, steep-sided village, and vehicle access and parking are up at the top of the bank rather than at the door, so plan on walking down and back up.

It is compact, and visitors generally describe it as a quick stop rather than a half-day outing. When several groups arrive at once the compact rooms and corridor feel tight, and the combination of the steep village approach and the internal stairs means it is not the easiest quick in-and-out stop.