The Whitby Cast

Emma & Ceri
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The Whitby Cast is a brand new podcast by Emma Ryan and Ceri Oakes, two journalists from Whitby who have never recorded a podcast in their lives.... until now. Join us to hear, in broad Yorkshire tones, what we've been covering in Whitby for our new online newspaper, The Anchor. We'll be discussing the latest news, interviewing guests and sharing our escapades along the way.

  1. 5d ago

    What Happens When Nobody Trusts Proof?

    We swap sunrise at sea for council chamber tension, moving from scallop checks with Fisheries Patrol to a Whitby Town Council meeting delayed by a ban dispute and a police call-out. We also look at why a real storm photo got labelled “AI” and what that says about trust, fact-checking and the future of local journalism.  • heading out on a rib with Fisheries Patrol for scallop dredging checks and a different view of Whitby from the sea  • harbour life at dawn and the reality of early starts in coastal industries  • a town council meeting delayed as a banned councillor refuses to leave and police are called  • why long-running conflict can block progress even when people care about the town  • a storm damage photo sparking “AI” claims and the technical reasons images can look unreal  • photojournalism ethics, consent and why we verify sources rather than copy posts  • how misinformation spreads through social media and untrained news pages  • marking six months of the Whitby Anchor and the pride of recording local history

  2. Oct 23

    Whitby’s Week In A Hurry

    That split second of silence after you hit record might be telling on you. We kick off with the “millennial pause” It also gives us a chance to laugh at ourselves as podcasters, including the reality that some listeners speed us up! From there we get into the heart of Whitby community news. We celebrate Lythe Shop getting enough volunteers to keep the doors open. We also talk about the reaction to the First In Last Out plans with Whitby Brewery at the helm, and why people are backing a community pub approach that feels rooted, familiar, and built with some soul rather than a quick money-led refurb. The deep dive this week is the North East Guardian fisheries patrol vessel. We share what we learnt on board, from licensing checks to seafood traceability, plus the conservation and scientific research that shapes shellfish seasons. We touch on tuna tagging, measuring catches like scallops, and how weather and harbour logistics affect the crew’s work. That naturally leads into maritime careers, the promise of the Whitby Maritime Training Hub, and our frustration at how hard it is to get clear updates on who is moving in and when it will properly open. We finish with what’s coming up: Scamp and Paw's sustainable pet food using scampi by-product to reduce waste, Goth Weekend and Whitby Abbey illuminated, a candlelit goth service at St Mary’s, town council business, and a call-out for the best Halloween house displays. If you enjoy smart, local Whitby news with a bit of warmth, subscribe, share the episode, and leave us a review.

  3. Oct 16

    Pumpkins, Pubs And Political Drama In Whitby

    We untangle a dramatic week at Whitby Town Council after five councillors resign together. Then we lighten the mood with pumpkin-field chaos, a pub makeover on the railway, road closure warnings, and a packed autumn calendar around Whitby and beyond.  • Five councillors resigning en masse • Independent investigators’ report and recommendations around disassociation  • What Whitby Town Council can and cannot do, including planning feedback  • Beacon Farm pumpkin picking booking system and the car park reality  • Why we love silly press photos and how stunts sell a story • First In Last Out refurbishment plans and what it could mean for the railway community  • Blue Bank and Lythe Bank closures and how diversions affect day-to-day travel  • what’s coming up locally: Illuminated Abbey, Goth Weekend, Musicport festival, Staithes International Film Festival, RNLI duck race, Litfest  • Apple crumble promise and what we’re covering next

  4. Oct 9

    Changing Village Plans Spark Debate

    A Romanian vampire is heading to Whitby Cast, a coffin velocipede is rolling back into Goth Weekend, and somehow we still end up knee-deep in the most divisive topic of the week: changing rooms at the leisure centre. We’re Emma and Ceri, and we’re catching up properly after a spell of half-takes and happy chaos, with a listener invitation to send us your best questions for Vlad ahead of his guest appearance. If you love Whitby’s gothic culture, you’ll feel right at home.  We talk Dracula, Bram Stoker’s Whitby inspiration, and how Victorian literature rewards a slower read, especially when you know the streets and views that sit behind the pages. There’s also a bit of book club plotting, because if we’re going to brave the darker months, we may as well do it with candles, themes, and something strong in a mug.  Then we hit Whitby news properly. Whitby Leisure Centre is due a major refurbishment under North Yorkshire Council, with plans covering the pool, gym space, studios and new paddle courts, but the proposed “village style changing” setup has sparked serious concern. We unpick what the term can mean, why clarity is missing, and how privacy, safety, trauma and family needs should be handled when public facilities are redesigned. We also share smaller local joys: dogs back on the beach for sunrise walks, our new Property Of The Week with Henderson’s of Whitby, and an October premium newsletter deal with Cooper’s Coffee House involving a free bagel schmear.  If you enjoy thoughtful Whitby news with a bit of personality, subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave us a review so more people can find the podcast.

  5. Oct 2

    Whitby Jet Survives Because It Never Stops Changing

    Whitby jet has a reputation as a souvenir but Sarah Steele knows otherwise.  A 5,500 year old craft, born from a Jurassic environmental catastrophe, kept alive by a handful of makers and a coastline that only gives up its treasures on the right tide.  We’re joined by Sarah Steele from Ebor Jetworks, a jet manufacturer and gemologist who’s also completing a PhD on jet identification and origins. Talking with her feels like being handed the keys to Whitby’s hidden history. so what does “jetting” actually involve: reading tides, understanding erosion, knowing which bays “catch” lightweight jet, and why makers are often stuck in workshops while the best low tides happen without them.  Sarah explains why the raw material supply is getting tighter, why the public plays a bigger role than most people realise, and what makes Whitby unusual worldwide: you can watch jet being cut and polished, and sometimes bring in your own beach find to be turned into a piece of Whitby jet jewellery. From there, we head into the newly reopened Whitby Jet Museum on Church Street, home to an original Victorian workshop that survived when hundreds vanished. Sarah lays out the Victorian jet boom, the collapse driven by imports and cracking material, and the uncomfortable twist that plastic was marketed as jet. Then it gets even darker: Dracula, the “language of stones”, jet’s electric charge, and why this gemstone keeps changing its meaning across faiths and centuries.

  6. Sep 25

    Indiana Jones And The Broken Swing Bridge

    A car in Whitby Harbour. A stranger jumping in without hesitating. Nineteen mates on 40-year-old motorised cycles crawling coast to coast at 35mph. Then we dive into a tourist tax row that’s turning comments sections into a proper battleground. We start in familiar territory: the annual struggle of Christmas arriving in the shops while the weather still feels like summer, plus our plan for a mince pie taste test that might get dangerously competitive. From there we shift to real local headlines, including the harbour incident and the rapid response from emergency services, and a genuinely good news story about Fishburn Park securing gifted land for grassroots sport in the community. The biggest debate we can’t ignore is the proposed tourist tax for North Yorkshire and what it could mean for Whitby. We talk about the core issue people keep coming back to: trust that the money will be spent locally, and whether it would fix the things visitors actually notice, like parking costs and basic public facilities. We also pick up on a question that stops you in your tracks: how can someone be a tourist in their own county? If you care about Whitby news, local infrastructure, tourism pressure and the everyday reality behind the postcards, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who loves the coast, and leave us a review with where you stand on the tourist tax.

  7. Sep 18

    We Finally Find Out Why The Sheep Graze Among The Graves

    Sheep in a graveyard sounds like the start of a ghost story, but the truth is far more down to earth and honestly quite brilliant. We promised we’d get an answer about the sheep at St Stephen’s Church in Robin Hood’s Bay, so we put it to the test and ring Deb while we’re recording. What we learn is a perfect example of conservation grazing on the Yorkshire coast: sheep keep the grass down, save human effort, and even help the churchyard bloom better next year. From there, things go exactly as they usually do with us: one practical question turns into a bigger chat about nature, nutrients, and the idea of green cemeteries. It’s a bit morbid, yes, but also oddly reassuring, and it links back to the way our landscapes are managed across North Yorkshire, from churchyards to estates. We also catch up on the best bits of local life, including Castleton Show and its seriously hilly six-mile run, plus the produce tent entries that restore your faith in humanity. Staithes Festival of Arts and Heritage gets a proper mention too, because live music in the street, kids dancing, and strangers smiling is exactly the kind of community moment we all need. On the news side, we talk school new starters, village schools working together, and the proposal to grant the honorary Freedom of the Town of Whitby to RAF Fylingdales, a landmark that fascinates us and sparks the inevitable “secret bunker” speculation. We round off with Whitby being transformed into a Netflix film set and a question we want you to answer: what’s the biggest thing you’ve seen being filmed near you? If you enjoy the pod, please subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave us a review.

  8. Sep 11

    Crab Lines And Tourist Tax

    Twenty-two crabbing lines, nets, and buckets pulled from Whitby Harbour in about an hour and a half is not “a bit of litter” We talk honestly about what is actually going wrong, why “just ban crabbing” misses the point, and what practical fixes might make it harder to leave a mess behind in the first place. From there we step into a bigger argument about pressure on the town: rules that exist but are rarely enforced, the cost of keeping a busy coastal destination clean, and the sense that Whitby’s infrastructure is creaking. That sets up our deep dive into the proposed North Yorkshire tourist tax, a £1 per person per night visitor levy that could raise serious money. We weigh up fairness for locals and visitors, the trust issue of where the money would really go, and whether a small charge would genuinely put people off coming to Whitby. We also bring the joy back with a round-up of what’s on, including Staithes Festival, Castleton Show, Heritage Open Days, and a proper Whitby heritage detour into ganseys with Deb Gillanders and her interactive Propagansey exhibition. If you care about Whitby Harbour, sustainable tourism, and the stories that make this place what it is, hit subscribe, share the episode with someone who loves the coast, and leave us a review so more people can find the podcast.

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About

The Whitby Cast is a brand new podcast by Emma Ryan and Ceri Oakes, two journalists from Whitby who have never recorded a podcast in their lives.... until now. Join us to hear, in broad Yorkshire tones, what we've been covering in Whitby for our new online newspaper, The Anchor. We'll be discussing the latest news, interviewing guests and sharing our escapades along the way.

Information

  • Creator
    Emma & Ceri
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    27
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Whitby Cast
  • Show Website
    The Whitby Cast

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