Independent businesses in Whitby are thriving. (Image: Getty)
While businesses up and down the country are closing their doors and the great British high street appears on the way out, one quaint seaside town is bucking the trend. Whitby, famous for its historic harbour and gothic atmosphere, boasts a thriving range of independent shops that shape the town’s unique character and charm. It’s home to a number of boutiques, particularly in areas like Skinner Street and Flowergate, that sell handmade items, bespoke watches, vintage clothing, and beauty products.
The Yorkshire town is a hub for all things creative and alternative, allowing an eclectic mix of small businesses to boom, from pottery workshops to the UK’s first iris photography studio. Drawing in tourists and locals alike, Gutsy Gingers sits on Brunswick Street, just a short walk from the beach that attracts visitors from all around the country.
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Leisha runs Gutsy Gingers on Brunswick Street. (Image: Supplied)
Owner Leisha Francesca de-Sancho has been breathing life into the community for 25 years, watching it grow from a tourist town to an all-year-round attraction.
She told the Express: “I pride myself on having a shop here because we don’t step on each other’s toes. There’s something for everyone, for every genre, every subculture – whether it’s a seaside holiday, a visit to the seashell shop, or the niche side of things.”
Leisha and her business thrive in Whitby due to its alternative scene, but her customers are not just locals. “We don’t have any shops like this where I live” is something she hears every single day.
Visitors travel up from London just for the day to visit Gutsy Gingers because “the high street is dying”, she says. But not in Whitby.
Leisha puts this down to the generations of business owners who have kept the town going for the past 50 years. While the big-name high street brands come and go over the years, one thing that can be relied upon is Whitby’s community of small business owners.
She explains: “We’ve had a bohemian subculture of small, independent shops since the 70s and 80s, and it’s been taken over by different generations and built upon … And that gives us a great sense of pride.”
And the pride is palpable. Whitby locals know their town is unique, and what says unique like a photography studio exclusively dedicated to taking pictures of eyes.
Josh Howarth works for Vizualeyes, a family-run studio owned by his parents that captures the beauty and individuality of the human iris.
The first of its kind in the country, Vizualeyes grew from a lockdown passion project to the artistically decorated brick-and-mortar shop that stands on Flowergate today.
Much like Leisha, Josh says people flock to his parents’ shop because of its unique appeal; you can’t get huge, high-res pictures of your eye just anywhere.
Josh works for Vizualeyes – the UK’s first iris photography studio. (Image: Supplied)
He told the Express: “People travel from Wales, Scotland, all over … We’ve got a lot of people coming because it’s so different … People travel from York and from all these other places because they know what they’re getting is better, but it’s half the price. So that’s another reason why people come all that way.”
It’s clear that Whitby prides itself on its creative side, and is a rare case of striking the balance between tourist shops and businesses that locals actually benefit from too.
Nicola Stead runs Mana Hub Whitby, a pottery and sculpture studio that runs workshops for all different ability levels.
Her business, in a community centre on the outskirts of town, is “predominantly for locals”, but tourists on weekend trips looking for a meaningful reminder of their holiday also frequent the studio with their children.
Nicola, as is the popular sentiment around town, believes Whitby’s success is down to its distinctive character and proud history that can still be felt through the streets today.
Mana Hub Whitby is a pottery and sculpture studio loved by locals. (Image: Supplied)
She told the Express: “I think Whitby itself is special because of the historical nature. There’s such a diverse range of skill sets that were learned in Whitby … You’ve got that history that attracts people because of all the different characters that came from Whitby.
“Also it’s just such a beautiful landscape. You’ve got so many coastlines around here with little bays, and then you’ve got the moors on your doorstep as well.
“I think businesses are thriving because we each have a unique gift to give to people who come and visit. There’s such an eclectic mix for any type of person to come to Whitby.”
Whitby continues to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year, drawn in by the independent shops and their kitschy window displays.
The seaside town, often named one of the UK’s best, doesn’t appear to be succumbing to the trend of the dying high street any time soon, and no one knows that better than people like Josh.
He says: “People come to Whitby for the quirky nature. They can go to a supermarket wherever they live. People come here because they want to be something different, something unique, and I think that’s kind of what these little shops offer.”