Captain Cook Memorial Museum

Adventure!  Endurance! Extraordinary Seamanship! Survival against the odds! Cook’s voyages were the 18th century equivalent of today’s missions to Mars. For ten years, Cook and his crews explored the unknown, uncharted waters of the Pacific, the South Atlantic, and the Arctic Oceans.  Danger was ever present.

The House on the harbour

The Museum is in the 17th century house where the master mariner and Quaker, Captain John Walker lodged his young apprentice James Cook during the winter when not at sea.  This is where it all began.  What did Cook owe to Whitby and John Walker? The thought-provoking collection of original paintings and drawings, letters in Cook’s own hand, ship models, maps and fascinating objects gathered on the voyages illustrate the Cook story.

New special exhibition every year.

Opening times 2026:

Daily Sat 7 Feb - Fri 27 March 10.30am - 3.00pm
Daily Sat 28 March - Sun 1 Nov, 10.00am - 5.00pm