A TOWN-wide festival will be held to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the first voyage of one of the world’s greatest explorers.

The Captain Cook Festival will be held in Whitby from July 6-8, kick starting several national anniversary events.

Visitors can board the Spanish hand-built tall ship Atyla to experience life at sea and re-live the Battle of Trafalgar on the smallest ship in Nelson’s fleet, the replica warship topsail schooner, HMS Pickle.

The festival will also showcase the Bark Endeavour Whitby – a replica of Cook’s HM Bark Endeavour – which is 40 per cent of the ship’s original size.

Endeavour Wharf will host a cooking theatre, and a maritime play is to be performed at Whitby Abbey, which will also be exhibiting maritime artwork and memorabilia.

Charles Forgan, from the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, said: “We are celebrating a Yorkshireman whose unrivalled skill, continued self-improvement, perseverance and quiet ambition is an example to all and to future generations.”

For more details, visit www.discoveryorkshirecoast.com