My favourite place Television presenter Helen Skelton extols the virtues of Whitby

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The television presenter and her family pile into their camper van for sand, sea and scampi – whatever the weather

I feel really lucky that I grew up in the Lake District, but when I was a kid, a day out at Blackpool, Southport or Morecambe was much more exciting than an afternoon at Ullswater. My brother and I joke about the time our parents picked us up from school and promised us a massive surprise. ‘Mum, are we going to Disneyland?’ ‘Dad, are we going to America?’

We went to Blackpool and we thought it was the best thing in the world.

I still love the beach and I usually take my kids [Ernie, four, and Louis, three] to Whitby about once every three weeks. It’s just over an hour’s drive from our home in Leeds. It’s an old-fashioned, cute seaside town, but it has a bit of grit to it because of the Dracula connection. Bram Stoker wrote the book after staying there in 1890 and Whitby features heavily in his story – most famously, the 199 steps up to the ruins of the medieval abbey that looms over the town. People count the steps, and thousands dress up in fantastic costumes for the Whitby Goth Weekend [held twice a year, in spring and at Hallowe’en].

Whitby has all the classic seaside things like penny slots and colourful beach huts, and families go crabbing in the harbour. My two whizz up and down the promenade for hours on end on their bikes and scooters. At low tide, you can walk three miles along the beach to the village of Sandsend. The beach there is vast and quieter, and a perfectly situated café,

LA ROSA HOTEL Whitby; larosa.co.uk From £90

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This clifftop hotel has theatrically decorated rooms and superb views of Whitby Abbey. There’s a snug cocktail bar and breakfast is delivered to your room in a picnic hamper. Lewis Carroll stayed six times.

THE ENDEAVOUR Staithes; endeavourrestaurant.co.uk From £100

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A B&B in the historic fishing village of Staithes, among the jumble of redroofed cottages around the harbour. Enjoy kippers, salmon and haddock smoked just up the road for breakfast.