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With its 3,000 year history, stunning location and panoramic views over the dramatic Yorkshire coastline, Scarborough Castle fully deserves its place as one of the finest tourist attractions in the North. It started life as an Iron Age Fort, was occupied by the Romans, became a Viking settlement and reached its heyday under Henry II.

Scarborough Castle stands on a massive promontory of rock that rises sheer-sided high above the North Sea. The 12th-century great tower crowning it is the centrepiece of a royal castle begun by Henry II, which was strengthened by later monarchs.

The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment have worked as partners to restore HMS Caroline, a lone survivor of the Battle of Jutland and living legend. With the help of a grant of £11.5m from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) the ship opened to all for the first time in June 2016.

What was HMS Caroline?

HMS Caroline is a C-class light-cruiser that saw action at the Battle of Jutland, the only major naval action of WW1 and was later an escort ship to convoys in the Second World War.

Housed in the Low Lighthouse, an 1818 construction with commanding views over the harbour and its unending movements, Harwich's Maritime Museum reveals the town's vast maritime history.

The museum is full of nautical memorabilia from photographs and paintings to ships in bottles and lighthouse bulbs. There are displays on the Royal Navy, including uniform and badges, pictures and models, plus local commercial shipping. A fantastic view of the shipping activity in the harbour is obtained from the top floor.