The 6 best coastal walks in North Yorkshire
Cliff path above a rocky bay on the North Yorkshire coast
Six cliff and beach routes ordered by how much they give back for the effort, from a five-mile circuit with a disused railway return to the three-mile stroll you can do in shoes.
1. Robin Hood's Bay to Ravenscar and back on the Cinder Track
This is the county's best coastal walk because it does two entirely different things in one loop. Out along the Cleveland Way from the top of Robin Hood's Bay, the path runs about three miles along crumbling cliff-top pasture with the whole sweep of the bay behind you, then climbs steeply to Ravenscar at around 600 feet, where the National Trust coastal centre and the ruins of a Victorian resort that never got built sit above the Peak Alum Works. The return is on the Cinder Track, the old Whitby to Scarborough railway, level all the way.
Total distance is five and a half to six miles with roughly 700 feet of ascent, mostly in one lump. Allow three hours, more if you go down to the alum works, which is the best industrial ruin on the coast. Park at the top of Robin Hood's Bay in the pay and display, not down in the village where the descent will punish you later. Do it clockwise as described; walking the Cinder Track outbound leaves the steep clifftop for tired legs and wastes the views.
2. Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay along the Cleveland Way
Six and a half miles of clifftop from the abbey headland to the top of Bay, passing Saltwick Nab, the foghorn station and Maw Wyke Hole, with the sea 200 feet below you almost the entire way. It is the classic North Yorkshire coast walk and the one section of the Cleveland Way that most people do as a day. The route is nearly all on well-trodden turf with stiles and a few short climbs; total ascent is modest, around 900 feet spread over the distance, and it takes three to three and a half hours.
The trick is the return. The X93 bus between Whitby and Scarborough stops at Robin Hood's Bay top, and there is also the Cinder Track if you want to walk both ways for a 13-mile day. Check bus times before you set off, as evening frequencies drop away sharply. Erosion has forced diversions inland at several points, so follow the waymarks rather than the map, and stay well back from the edge, which is genuinely unstable boulder clay in places after wet weather.
3. Runswick Bay to Staithes
The most dramatic four miles on the coast, and the least crowded of the top three. From the red-roofed cottages of Runswick Bay the Cleveland Way climbs onto Lingrow Cliffs, passes the collapsed harbour of Port Mulgrave with its beach of iron-mine spoil, and rounds Old Nab into Staithes, where the houses jam themselves into a cleft so tight that cars are banned from the lower village. There are two sharp climbs and about 800 feet of ascent overall; allow two hours each way, or use the bus to return.
Fossil hunters go for the ammonites in the Jurassic shale below Port Mulgrave, but only on a falling tide and with a hard eye on the cliffs above, which drop rock without warning. Staithes has cobbled alleys, a lifeboat station, and the shop where James Cook worked as a boy before running away to sea at Whitby. Park in the clifftop car parks at both villages and walk down, since both seafronts are impossible for parking. This is the section to pick if you want atmosphere over big open views.
4. Scarborough to Hayburn Wyke
North from Scarborough's North Bay the coast turns wooded and secret, and Hayburn Wyke is the pay-off: a boulder cove where a beck drops directly onto the beach in a small waterfall, reached through a National Trust wood of twisted oak. The full walk from Scalby Mills is about five miles each way, so most people drive to the inn at Hayburn Wyke and walk the last three quarters of a mile downhill, or shorten the coastal route by starting at Cloughton Wyke for a three-mile round trip.
The descent to the beach is steep, rooty and often muddy; the boulders below are large, awkward and slippery with weed, so it is not a swimming or paddling stop. What it is, is the quietest good cove between Whitby and Filey, empty on a weekday even in August. Combine with the Cinder Track for a loop back to Cloughton village. If you want the same coast with far less effort, Scarborough's own Marine Drive around the castle headland is flat, paved and gives both bays in half an hour.
5. Sandsend to Whitby along the beach
Three miles of firm sand between the two, walkable in an hour, with Whitby Abbey on its headland ahead the whole way and the alum-stained cliffs of Sandsend Ness behind. This is the walk for a family, a hangover, a dog or anyone in trainers, and it is the best-value hour on the coast because it costs nothing and ends with fish and chips. The clifftop path exists as an alternative when the sea is high, and the two run parallel with several sets of steps between them.
The one absolute rule is tides. The beach narrows near East Row and at the Ness, and being caught by a rising tide here is a real and regular incident, so check the day's tide table before starting and walk out on a falling tide. Park at Sandsend in the pay and display beside the beck and return by the Whitby bus, which runs frequently through the day. Confirm bus times locally, as the evening service thins considerably outside the high summer weeks.
6. Filey Brigg and the Carr Naze circuit
The southern end of the Cleveland Way finishes on Filey Brigg, a mile-long finger of rock reaching into the North Sea, and the circuit from Filey seafront up over Carr Naze and back through the Country Park is a straightforward three miles with one moderate climb. On a clear day you see Flamborough Head to the south and Scarborough's castle to the north, and the exposed Brigg at low tide is a rock pool playground with a Roman signal station site on the headland above it.
It sits sixth only because the scenery is gentler than everything further north; there are no 200-foot cliffs and no fishing villages. In its favour, Filey has the best beach on the coast, five miles of flat sand, and the walk is easy enough for a mixed-ability group. Never walk out onto the Brigg on a rising tide or in a swell; people get cut off there every season. Filey has a railway station on the Hull to Scarborough line, so this one works without a car.
Buses, tides and what to skip
The single most useful piece of planning is the coastal bus, which links Scarborough, Robin Hood's Bay, Whitby, Sandsend, Staithes and beyond, letting you walk one way and ride back. Frequencies are decent through the day and much thinner in the evening and in winter, so check the operator's timetable rather than assuming. Tide tables matter for Sandsend, Filey Brigg and any beach section; get them from the harbour office, the RNLI or a local shop. Cliff paths here are eroding, and diversions are common after wet winters.
Skip walking the Cinder Track end to end as a walk; it is 21 miles of level former railway, superb on a bike and monotonous on foot. Skip the section between Whitby and Sandsend at high tide and use the clifftop instead. If you have one day and want the best of the coast, do Robin Hood's Bay to Ravenscar in the morning and drive to Staithes for the late afternoon, when the light gets into the harbour cleft and the day visitors have gone.
Before you book
What people ask before booking Whitby.
Sandsend to Whitby, three miles of firm sand in about an hour, with the abbey ahead the whole way and a frequent bus back. Check tide times first, as the beach narrows at Sandsend Ness and walkers are cut off there most seasons.
Most of them. The Scarborough to Whitby bus corridor serves Robin Hood's Bay, Sandsend and Staithes, and Filey, Scarborough and Whitby all have railway stations. Walk one way and take the bus back, but check evening frequencies with the operator, which drop sharply outside high summer.
Moderate rather than hard. The Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay section is six and a half miles with around 900 feet of ascent spread over many small climbs. Runswick Bay to Staithes is shorter but steeper, with two sharp pulls. Paths are grass and mud, so boots matter.
Only with care. The Jurassic shales below Port Mulgrave, Runswick Bay and Saltwick produce good ammonites, but the cliffs are actively eroding and drop rock without warning. Search loose material on the foreshore, never dig into the cliff face, and always work on a falling tide.
