Earthquake leaves Scarborough (slightly) shaken but not stirred

An earthquake measuring 3.9 on the Richter scale off the coast of Scarborough yesterday evening (Monday 3 January 2017) – the strongest to hit the UK for more than a decade - has been described as ‘less stirring than the beautiful landscape’ according to local tourism bosses.

The quake which occurred at 6.52pm 100 miles off the coast of Scarborough in the North Sea barely registered amongst the coastal population, with tourism bosses for the Yorkshire Coast and North York Moors suggesting that visitors would have been more likely to feel physically moved by the beauty of the rugged coastline and the geological features of the national park than they were by the quake.

“We have been amused by the memes that quickly appeared on Twitter following the quake, but with few people in the town actually reporting feeling the earth move, people are far more likely to be moved by the beauty of the Jurassic coastline than by the physical shifting of tectonic plates,” comments Janet Deacon, area director for North Yorkshire at Welcome to Yorkshire. “Not even the sticks of rock in the foreshore gift shops were disturbed!”

The Borough of Scarborough, which includes the town itself as well as Filey, Whitby and parts of the national park, is one of the top five most visited destinations in England, according to the latest statistics from Visit England, with 1.4 million visits per year.

For more details, please visit www.discoveryorkshirecoast.com and www.yorkshire.com

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Media packs including details of many different kinds of holiday, from relaxation and pampering to mountain biking and adventure, are available on request, with requests for familiarisation trips for 2017 now being welcomed. Contact Sam Orange or Nicola Bexon on 01904 500698 or email sam@pyperyork.co.uk for details.

For further media information or photographs, please contact:

Samantha Orange

Pyper York Limited

Tel:         01904 500698

Email:    sam@pyperyork.co.uk