Fancy a Burberry raincoat for a third of the normal price? Or does your taste run more to colourful unique tie-dying? Whichever you go for, Whitby could have the shop for you.

IT might be a bit hard to think of a £300 raincoat as a bargain, but when it's genuine Burberry then it's a snip - they normally retail at nearly three times that price. And at £900, you'd think the last thing people would do is get them wet.

But although Burberrys are pricey, they are amazingly enduring and seem to last a lifetime, which was what earned them their fame in the first place. In recent years, Burberry have broadened their range, sharpened up their image and produce a wide range of fashion classics. That distinctive check has appeared on everything from handbags to toffee tins.

Raincoats are some of the more dramatic bargains you'll find at the Burberry factory shop in Whitby, where shelves and racks are stocked with check variations - even more distinctive after Burberry took action against people doing cheap imitations of it.

Other bargains are a mite more affordable too.

Like any factory shop, stock is fairly unpredictable but they always carry a wide range of men's and ladieswear, plus a small selection of children's clothes. As well as famous customers - on the shop walls there are pictures of John Thaw, Maureen Lipman and Geoffrey Hughes, among others snapped while shopping there - the shop has a strong core of loyal regulars.

"One lady comes nearly every week from Newcastle to make sure she doesn't miss any bargains," says manager Liz Stonehouse, "and we have lots of people coming from all over the country, particularly Liverpool and Manchester."

Stock rarely includes current lines, being mainly last season, end of line and occasional seconds. There used to be a Burberry factory shop in the centre of Whitby. "In those days, they just used to hold occasional sales in the canteen," says Liz.

They were so successful that six years ago, the company took over small premises next door, and later expanded them further to provide quite an extensive shop. And now, although the Burberry factory has long gone, the shop survives and flourishes.

"It's so much nicer to have a factory shop in a place like Whitby instead of in the middle of an industrial estate somewhere. It means people can make a day out of coming to see us and lot of people do," says Liz.

REMEMBER...

Stock in factory shops is always variable. What you see is what you get and you cannot guarantee that they will have every style and size. However, these are some of the items we spotted while we were there. Most prices are about a third of what you would pay in proper shops.

"People from London just can't believe their eyes when they see the prices here," says Liz

H Raincoats, men's and ladies', from £139 - £329

H Handbags from £69

H Wool scarves £17.50

H Pyjamas £39

H Cashmere topcoat £475

H Hats £15-£25

H Blouson jackets £75

H Blazers £139

H Ladies' cardigans £49

H Tailored skirts £65

H Men's/ladies suits £200

H Famous check blouses £49

The Burberry Shop is in the Market Place, Whitby. Tel: (01947) 606161. Open every day. 9.30am-5pm Mon-Sat; 11am-4pm, Sun

Meanwhile, next door major reconstruction and renovation work is going on in the old Burberry factory - a wine bar/ restaurant upstairs and a small shopping arcade downstairs. Long before it was the Burberry factory the site was the meat market, hence the new old name of The Shambles.

Businesses in the Shambles include artist David Wilkinson, others selling wooden models, aromatherapy and a splendid pottery shop which sells Poole Pottery (including the range designed by Uri Geller), a range of unusual Greek glass lighting and beautifully decorated boxes.

Opening soon will be a small museum dedicated entirely to Heartbeat.

And in a corner is Tide High, a punningly-named splash of colour selling tie-dyed T shirts, sarongs, skirts, even tiny baby clothes.

Moyra Hill started tie dyeing years ago "Like everyone else, when I was broke and couldn't afford to buy new clothes, I used to tie-dye all my faded old shirts."

Unlike everyone else, she became particularly good at it, graduated to a market stall and on Good Friday opened the unit in the Shambles, where she and helpers carry on dyeing behind the counter - there are buckets and pans, and garments tied up in elastic bands waiting for the next step in the process.

This is tie-dyeing done to a professional standard, wonderfully cheerful in bright clean colours and not a bit like the murky things most of us have cooked up.

"Everyone thinks it just belongs to the Sixties, but people have been using tie dyes for hundreds of years. It's a very simple way of getting interesting effects," says Moyra.

The techniques have remained much the same. Hundreds of years ago they probably used dried peas too, as Moyra does, though possibly not bottle tops - which give that starburst pattern.

The shop has a splendid setting, immediately overlooking the harbour.

"When the tide is high, the water is reflected on the walls and ceiling of the shop, a lovely light effect, so the name is really appropriate," says Moyra.

Tide High, The Shambles, Market Place, Whitby. Open daily. Every item is tie-dyed and includes

* sarongs £10

* wraparound skirts £15

* T shirts from £9.50

* Babies' all in ones from £6.