Things To Do and Places to Go
BEACHES
Stoupe Beck Sands (above) is the nearest accessible beach to Smugglers Rock. To get to the beach, turn left out of the main gate and follow the road up the hill and past the mast. After about 1½ miles, the road forks with both ways showing a ‘no through road’ sign. Take the right hand fork and follow the road down through a couple of very steep bends. The road ends after another mile in a small car park. (NB. it only holds about 8 cars and is usually very busy during weekends and in the summer months.) From the car park are steps (about 100) which are part of the Cleveland Way and lead down to the beach. Tide permitting, you can walk along the beach, past Boggle Hole youth hostel to the village of Robin Hood’s Bay. (The hostel has a lovely cafe with a cosy log burner inside and lots of outdoor seating too). Once in Bay town there is the restored old Coastguard station that is open to the public as a National Trust Centre. The tides can be very dangerous on this part of the coastline and unless you have at least 2½ hours before high tide, you shouldn’t attempt to walk back from Bay. Instead, you can use the cliff top, which takes about double the amount of time (45 minutes) to walking on the beach.
There is access the shore at Ravenscar (but only at low tide) below Raven Hall hotel. Access is across the golf course and down the cliff path (600 ft in total and very steep in places!) The last section can be quite a scramble and it is a lovely but not so easy walk round to Stoupe Beck Sands or on to Boggle Hole and Robin Hood’s Bay. You may see seals on the beach and deer on your descent. If you look carefully when on the beach, you may see the remains of the old harbours and post holes used by the boats loading and unloading at the alum works. You can of course walk the other way from Stoupe Beck Sands but there is nowhere to get up the cliff if you get cut off by the tide. Only attempt the walk at low tide.
Scarborough North Bay is a lovely beach which stretches from the castle headland sound to the Sea Life Centre. There are cafes and a bar.
Scarborough South Bay also has a lovely beach and there are lots of amusements and food outlets here, but it does get busier in the summer.
Whitby also has a lovely beach, as does Sandsend (a couple of miles north of Whitby).
Places To Visit
Goathland was the setting for the ITV series ‘Heartbeat’. There are lots of recognisable places such as the village green, the garage and shops and the pub (filming was actually done inside the pub). The railway station here is on the line between Pickering and Whitby and was used in the Harry Potter films as the Hogwarts Express Station
The south cliff in Scarborough is where you will find the ‘Royal’ hospital, which was a a spin off ITV series connected to ‘Heartbeat’.
Pickering is a lovely market town and is at one end of the North York Moors steam railway. Trains run very frequently during the summer (less so out of season), and you can get on and off at each of the stations en-route. The end (or start!) point is Grosmont and the train journey takes about 1 ¼ hours
Scarborough is a large busy town with a wide variety of shops, although not so much of the old town is immediately visible. The major supermarkets can all be found in Scarborough. Speedboat and fishing trips are available from the harbour
Whitby by contrast is a smaller town and retains many more of the old buildings and charm. There is a lot to see with the old cobbled streets and the abbey high above the town up the famous 199 steps. There is also a smokehouse where you can buy the famous Fortunes kippers There is the estuary (with boat trips available up-stream). There are a reasonable selection of shops and a good-sized Co-op supermarket. There is also an Aldi and Lidl, and a Sainsburys on the main road into Whitby
There are many good places for morning coffee and afternoon teas. Of course, there are lots of fish restaurants, the most well known being The Magpie and Trenches
Robin Hood’s Bay is very well known and is a quaint old fishing town (known as ‘Bay’ to the locals). Parking is at the top of the hill with a very steep walk down to the shore and the old town. Bay is very popular with visitors and there are several good pubs, a fish and chip shop and the National Trust Centre
Falling Foss Tea Garden is a delightful place in the woods on the Ruswarp road (which is the turn off before Robin Hood's Bay). It is signposted from this road and there is car parking and lots of lovely walks from here. They serve snacks and light lunches and there's a stream for little ones and dogs to paddle. One of our favourite spots in the nice weather :) Note there is no inside space but some of the outdoor seating is covered
Further up the coast just above Whitby is Sandsend, which has a beautiful beach at road level. You can park fairly easily here and walk to Whitby along the beach (or on the walkway/promenade at high tide). The ‘Hart Inn’ serves wonderful lunches (including a lovely crab salad!). Runswick Bay is just a little further up the coast and is a picturesque little village. Parking here is at the bottom of the hill and there is a nice sandy beach. The houses are all set on the hillside with little walkways and passages between them
THINGS TO DO
WALKING
The Cleveland Way national long distance walk hugs the cliff path through the village as part of the 110 mile length
The Wake Walk runs from Osmotherly to Ravenscar, a distance of 42 miles across the moors, which is traditionally to be completed in one day
The disused railway from Scarborough to Whitby is now a safe walking trail
Waymark Walk guides with details of local walks are available in local shops and cafes
CYCLING
Mountain bikes are available to hire from Trailways Cycle Hire, Old Railway Station, Hawsker. (Tel. 01947 820207) on the A171, 2 miles before Whitby.
The old Scarborough to Whitby railway line is a safe traffic-free cycle trail (it can be accessed from Station Square or by the National Trust Centre in Ravenscar)
Local country roads and forest tracks are perfect for cycling
Leaflets and books showing routes are available from Ravenscar Tea Rooms, The National Trust Centre or the honesty shop in Ravenscar
RIDING AND TREKKING
Pony trekking is available at: Snainton Riding Centre, Station Road, Snainton. Tel .01723 859218 www.snaintonridingcentre.co.uk , at Farsyde Riding Centre, Robin Hood’s Bay, tel. 01974 890205, and also at Irton Riding Centre, 93a Main Street, Irton, Scarborough tel. 01723 863466 www.irtonridingcentre.co.uk
GOLF
Raven Hall Hotel (9 hole), Ravenscar. Tel. 01723 870353
Scarborough South Cliff Golf Club, Deepdale Avenue, Scarborough YO11 2UE. Tel. 01723 360522
Scarborough North Cliff Golf Club, North Cliff Avenue, Scarborough, YO12 6PP. Tel. 01723 355397
Whitby Golf Club, Sandsend Road, Whitby, YO21 3SR. Tel. 01947 600660