Isle of Skye Road Trip Part 1 – Whitby, Bamburgh and Holy Island

Discover Whitby, Bamburgh Castle, Holy Island and Edinburgh on the first leg of a Skye road trip exploring history and culture.

“It all goes back to the sheep,” I tell my friends on the first day of our road trip to Scotland, as we approach Whitby. “Forget Henry VIII, the industrial revolutions and Dunkirk – it was the sheep that made Britain great.”

“Dunkirk?” they respond, as I realise they have a lot to learn about British history – mind you my knowledge of US history is equally scant. Fortunately, we have plenty of time – 10 days in all on our trip to Skye.

Of Dissolution and Sheep

Earlier that day we had set off from Essex and driven along the A1 through what I apologetically explained was not the most scenic part of the UK. “It will get better,” I assure them.

Our road trip had been planned for about a year – by planned I mean ‘talked about’ – ever since I visited my friend Lesley in DC for her wedding to Shawn, a US army French horn player and alphornist. That had been the first time I’d met Shawn and his son August. All three were now folded into the back seat of my car. It was August’s first trip out of the States.

“In the Middle Ages British wool was regarded as the finest in the world, and in much demand,” I continue as Shawn and August doze in the back seat and Lesley patiently indulges me, not for the first time nor the last. “That’s where the monasteries got their money – from the wool trade to the Netherlands. You see – it all goes back to the sheep.”

I explain how, in my opinion, Henry was more driven by greed than lust in his decision to dissolve the monasteries, which at the time were both powerful and wealthy. Whatever his motives, Henry dissolved monasteries across England such as Whitby Abbey in the mid-16^th century where we were now headed.

Eventually we thankfully depart the A1 to drive across the North York Moors, where my American guests stop for the first time to take some snaps.

One of the great aspects of taking friends to discover parts of the world you have known for decades is you get to see those places with fresh eyes again – theirs. And recall the awe you had felt when you had first visited.

And the North York Moors are certainly awesome. It was the first time my guests had visited any moors, so it was an especially rewarding experience for me – and of course there were plenty of sheep.

Whitby Spoons

Apart from its abbey, Whitby’s main claim to fame is its fish and chips. All along the route apart from talking about sheep, I had said how the fish and chips in Whitby are the best in the UK, and by extension, the world – I chose to adopt superlatives for my American friends. It builds excitement and eventual arguments.

As the witching hour for pubs and restaurants was fast approaching by the time we arrive at Whitby, I drop my mother and friends off at a great looking pub next to the harbour while I parked the car on one of the numerous one way narrow streets in Whitby.

A few minutes later I return to discover the pub was a Wetherspoons. My friends were as oblivious to the significance of this as they were to dissolving monasteries, sheep and Dunkirk.

Lesley volunteered to pick up the bill, and was amazed at how cheap it was – a feeling none of us were going to experience again on our trip (except at a petrol station in a week’s time). I settled down on the small terrace by the road, supped my beer (not the best in the UK or world), watched the light dimming over the Abbey’s ruins, and feared the worst.

I am not sure if Spoons’ Whitby fish and chips is special, but it tasted far better than I recalled. My friends approved, and so far, my road trip was getting an American seal of approval, but that was maybe due to their hunger

Whitby Abbey

Whitby Abbey stands as majestic ruins overlooking the Yorkshire town, drawing tourists from across the world, including the US.

The following morning, I settled down to a long breakfast with my mother, while Lesley’s gang went off exploring Whitby, climbing the 99 steps to the Abbey.

One of our major concerns while planning our route was to make sure there was something for August to enjoy. Mum was happy just to be out of the house, I was content talking about sheep, Lesley had always wanted to visit Scotland – something about Outlander, though she didn’t want to admit it – and Shawn was here for the whisky. But August? What does a 16-year-old on his first trip out of the US want?

That was part of the reason for selecting Whitby for our first stop. The moors and fish and chips, naturally. But the abbey is where Dracula landed on his voyage from Transylvania to England and as a dog skittered up the 99 steps, according to Bram Stoker’s novel. Surely, a 16-year-old would love that.

Swapping messages with Lesley I timed our drive up to Whitby Abbey to coincide with them leaving the ruins. All three loved seeing the 99 steps, the moody St. Mary’s churchyard, and the gothic ruins of English abbey which dated back to the eighth century – something which naturally you do not find in the Americas.

Bamburgh Castle Northumberland 

August might not have been that impressed with Whitby’s blood-sucking literary connections, but that afternoon I came to discover what he really wanted. Zombies!

Leaving Whitby, we drove across the moors and along the coast to Bamburgh. Here while mum and I had lunch – you might be able to detect a recurring theme – Lesley, Shawn and August went to explore Bamburgh Castle. I confess it hadn’t even occurred to me that there aren’t any castles in the US.

Unlike Whitby Abbey, Bamburgh Castle is no ruin, but one of the most spectacular of the castles in Northumberland. The original fort was built on a volcanic hill by the Celts overlooking the magnificent beach. What now stands is Norman although heavily restored in Victorian times. It is a proper castle. Another tick for me.

Holy Island Lindisfarne and Zombies

As we depart Bamburgh, I ask my guests which route they want to take. Back to the A1 and on to Edinburgh – our destination for the night – or a slight detour to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne.

Lesley wanted to get out of the car and to Edinburgh as quickly as possible, but August opted for the detour. The reason – zombies of course.

I soon realised the way to keep any 16-year-old happy on a long road trip is to discover the cultural point of reference for them. In this case it involved a recent survivalist film where the humans are kept safe on Holy Island while the zombies roam around the main land.

The zombies in the film must have been incredibly stupid. All they had to do was check the time of the tides to cross the causeway leading to the island at low tide.

Long before the zombies had ever heard of tide tables, Saint Aidan founded a monastery on Holy Island in 635. Now droves of tourists make the pilgrimage here in the summer, although quite how many are actually zombies in disguise, I am unsure.

Holy Island is devastatingly beautiful. It has the wild untamed wonder of Northumberland but engulfed by the sea. Along with the nearby Farne Islands with their puffins it is my favourite place in Northumberland, which I believe is the most stunning county in England.

We depart before both zombies and high tide arrive, to pick up the A1 once more, narrowly avoiding almost certain death as I pulled out in front of a lorry who didn’t seem to understand the word decelerate. Or was it me who didn’t understand the accelerating power of a car with five people in it? Visions of The Duel played through my mind.

A short while later we pull into a layby which marks the border between England and Scotland to pose for the inevitable photograph before carrying on our journey towards Edinburgh for our first night north of the border.

July 2025 Mark, his mum and three friends from the States, took a 10-day road trip to Scotland, visiting Whitby, Edinburgh, the Highlands, Isle of Sky and Chester. This is the first part of their journey. You can continue reading his travels here.

Article written by Mark with additional content from Lesley. Photos by Lesley and Shawn.