By the time I get to Whitby on Friday night, my parents, who arrived the day before, have a new obsession. 

‘Look at this!’ my mother says, ushering me into the kitchen of our rented cottage and pointing to a treacly cake sitting in the middle of the table. ‘Isn’t it beautiful?!’ I admire the cake and notice a number of paper bags lined up on the sideboard, with the same blue and gold branding. 

‘There were biscuits too,’ Mum says with a touch of smugness, ‘but we’ve already eaten them.’ My parents have discovered Botham’s Bakery. The wonder of Botham’s, in fact, turns out to be just the first of several unexpected and marvellous discoveries we made during a weekend in Whitby this past November.