We start a village walk, and a brand-new farm vending machine serving fresh milk and ridiculously good milkshakes in reusable glass bottles. It’s a small thing that says a lot about rural North Yorkshire right now - innovation and diversification.

Then we head to the livestock mart, where the buzz isn’t only about animals, it’s about people getting off isolated farms and talking face to face. Next, Lythe Shop, a volunteer-run community shop and post office that does far more than sell essentials. We share what we’ve heard from the volunteers and why the lack of extra hands could put the shop’s long-term future at risk.

We also take you up near Whitby Abbey for an on-location update with Luke and Jess from Whitby Distillery. Their Abbeylands Distillery project will turn two hidden, derelict barns into a destination with tours, tastings, a bar, flexible community use, and a terrace view made for a summer gin and tonic. They talk honestly about the years of planning, legal hurdles, harsh weather on site, and the heritage details they’re determined to get right, including salvaged Abbey stone and the Spirits Walkway.

We finish with a proper soapbox moment on the Love Lane housing proposal with North Yorkshire Council and Lovell: what counts as “affordable”, what happens to views and infrastructure, and whether buying existing homes for social housing could be a smarter pilot.

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Join Emma and Ceri for a proper Whitby catch-up, from guilty confessions to the kind of local chaos that only happens when a town’s key link grinds to a halt. Plus flash floods and fresh planning debates.

We swap seaside confessions that start with a “secret flake” at Clara’s before digging into Whitby’s bigger headaches, from banking access and summer traffic to the swing bridge failures, before finishing with local updates, weekend plans and a chat with our work experience student Sophie.

We celebrate a brilliant week for Whitby, from two award-winning butchers to a teenager raising thousands for a local disability charity. We also head to the RNLI boathouse to hear what really drives summer callouts, what cold water shock does to the body, and how the lifeboat crew stays ready year-round.

We hand Jimmy from Sunbeam a ukulele and ask for a Whitby Anchor jingle, so you can guess how this starts. Jimmy joins us ahead of Sunbeam’s tenth anniversary gig at the Royal in Whitby, and we get into the real story of building a band from scratch: the early pub gigs, the cover sets held together with lyric sheets, and the moment the sound shifts with a full five-piece line-up.

We talk about what it takes to keep going for a decade while juggling jobs, kids, touring costs and the sheer graft of getting up and down the country but its all worth it when you hear the crowd singing your lyrics back to you.

Then we shift to Whitby news and the stories sparking debate. We unpack the government’s refusal to back wildfire compensation for farmers after the North Yorkshire moors fires, we give an update on Danger Bank repairs being delayed again. We also share a lovely bit of community support with a mention in the Bay Town Chronicle, and we explain how to join our newsletter and supporters’ mailing list for local offers.

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From a rainy afternoon in an office at Whitby Lobster Hatchery, we talk with Whitby Lobster Hatchery's Joe Redfern about the practical work behind conservation aquaculture and what it takes to support a real fishing town while rebuilding marine wildlife.

We dig into the hatchery’s core process, including how “buried hens” are brought in with legal dispensation, how V-notching protects breeding females, and why the long-term ambition is bold: one baby lobster released for every lobster caught into Whitby.

Joe also shares an update on the brown crab hatchery, why edible crab stocks are falling nationally, and how new marine biology interns help build capacity and create rare training opportunities in a competitive field.

We also touch on citizen science sightings, fish market improvements, and what a maritime hub could mean for jobs and aspiration in Whitby.

If you care about sustainable fishing, marine conservation, or the future of coastal communities, listen now, share this with someone who loves the sea, and leave us a review so more people can find the Whitby Cast.

Drama isn’t just for the stage, it’s rehearsal for real life. We sit down with Chris Colebrookw from Colebrooke Productions to hear how a local Whitby performing arts school grew from a handful of children into a bustling community of young performers and adult learners, and why Chris is stepping away from his day job at the Whitby Pavilion to put his energy where it’s needed most.

Chris also shares why he wrote an open letter about drama provision at Whitby School, focusing on Key Stage 3. We talk about access and fairness for years 7, 8 and 9, and why drama education supports confidence, communication, imagination and employability. If young people spend so much time on screens, what happens when schools stop giving them structured time to speak, listen and work face to face?

After Chris, we have the usual local round up: the Grosmont suspension footbridge closure and the knock on effect for businesses and residents, fresh questions about the Whitby maritime hub costs and harbour funding, and a first look at the Treasury ahead of its opening on 8 June. Then we finish with seaside essentials: a council seagull strategy, gull stories, and the Royal Navy sending a seaboat to collect 50 portions of Magpie fish and chips.

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We catch up on the week’s most local stories, from rural crime worries in Glaisedale to the creative North Yorkshire Open Studios.

Andrew Snaith joins us to celebrate Whitby Town’s centenary, reliving Wembley 1997 and looking ahead to a summer rebuild and a stronger bond with the community.