James Cook was born in 1728 near Middlesbrough in Yorkshire. He went on to become one of the greatest European explorers. He was the first to circumnavigate the globe in both directions and the first to cross the Antarctic Circle. He explored and mapped the East Coast of Australia, charted New Zealand, discovered Hawaii, plotted the approaches to Quebec and Newfoundland and sailed up the West Coast of Canada to Alaska and the Bering Straits. High heather-clad moorland dominates the Country; sheltered valleys run to the sea and rugged cliffs abound. Much may have changed, but it remains the landscape that nurtured and shaped the young farm boy with an ambition ‘not only to go farther than anyone had done before, but as far as it was possible for man to go’.
Captain Cook Country is on the North Yorkshire and Cleveland coast in England. Head to this beautiful place and discover his Birthplace in Marton, his Schoolroom in Ayton, the Heritage Centre in Staithes and the Memorial Museum in Whitby, where he lodged as an apprentice seaman. For more information and to find accommodation in the area check out the Captain Cook Country website.