HE got everywhere, Captain James Cook RN, FRS. Born at Middles-brough, he went to school at Great Ayton and became an apprentice to a shipowner at Whitby before taking to the High Seas and becoming Britain's greatest explorer.

But there's also another North Yorkshire community where Cook first became acquainted with the sea - Staithes, where he got his first job as an assistant to a local trader in 1744 after leaving school.

And the village's connections with the famous seafarer are commemorated at the Captain Cook and Staithes Heritage Centre in the High Street.

I called in at the centre recently on my first visit to Staithes, and found it an intriguing, if slightly eccentric, treasure trove of historical artefacts about both Cook and the village's history as a fishing community.

There are hundreds of books and pictures about Cook's life, including 62 original engravings from his third and final voyage in 1776.

And there are thousands of photographs and newspaper articles about life in Staithes over the centuries since his brief residence.

There are everyday photos in the style of Frank Meadows Sutcliffe of fishermen and their womenfolk, and examples of the smocks and oilskins worn by them. There are illustrations of the great storms in which homes were destroyed and fishermen and lifeboatmen lost their lives. There's also a full-scale street scene from around the time of Cook.

Other items on display included the white naval ensign which was flown on the last day on Malta before independence was declared.

Staithes is a picturesque village clinging to the steep cliff sides, somewhat in the style of Runswick Bay or Robin Hood's Bay, only not quite so gentrified.

You have to park on the clifftops and walk down a steep road into the main village. Some buildings are lying empty and disused, and others are holiday cottages to let, but you feel there is still a working community at its heart, including fishermen.

A massive scheme is under way to protect the village from the ever-encroaching seas by extending the existing sea walls.

We bought some delicious fish and chips from the Smugglers' Rest takeaway and watched the gangs of men at work protecting this part of North Yorkshire's heritage.

Fact file:

Captain Cook and Staithes Heritage Centre, High Street, Staithes.

Open 10am to 5pm daily.

Admission: Adult £2.25, child £1, family: £6.

More information: 01947 841454.