▲ North YorkshireDestinations
← All things to do Beaches & Waterfronts · Filey

Filey Beach and Filey Brigg

Five flat miles of sand curving south from a fishing slipway, with a mile-long rock finger at the north end where two national trails come to an end.

Where
Filey
Time needed
Half day
Tickets
Free
Free entry
Yes
Wide sands of Filey Bay curving south with the rocky Brigg headland to the north Wide sands of Filey Bay curving south with the rocky Brigg headland to the north

What to expect at Filey Beach and Filey Brigg

Filey sits between Scarborough and Flamborough Head on a bay of exceptionally flat, firm sand that runs five miles south towards Hunmanby Gap, Reighton and Speeton. The town grew from a fishing village into a genteel Victorian resort, and the Crescent above the beach, built from the 1830s, still gives it a restrained, seasidey elegance that its louder neighbours lack. At the northern end the sand stops abruptly at Filey Brigg, a narrow reef of Corallian rock jutting nearly a mile into the North Sea, exposed at low water and drowned at high. The Brigg is the northern end of the Yorkshire Wolds Way, which runs 79 miles from Hessle on the Humber, and the eastern end of the Cleveland Way, which comes 109 miles from Helmsley across the moors and down the coast. Two national trails finishing on one rock is a rare thing.

The beach itself is the main event and it is unusually good: hard sand you can cycle on, a very gentle gradient, and enough width at low tide for a football match. Start at Coble Landing, where the fishing cobles are still hauled up the concrete slip by tractor and where the lifeboat station and the amusements sit; the Filey Bay Tourist Land Train runs the promenade in summer. Walk north under the cliffs to the Brigg, or climb through Filey Country Park on the headland, where there is grass, parking and a memorial to the Bonhomme Richard, the ship John Paul Jones fought Serapis in off Flamborough in 1779. On the Brigg itself the rock pools at low water are the best on this stretch of coast, thick with anemones, crabs and blennies.

Tide and footwear decide everything here. The Brigg is only walkable in the two hours or so either side of low water, the rock is slippery and pitted, and people are cut off on it every year; the coastguard rescues are entirely avoidable with a tide table. The main beach is lifeguarded in summer with flagged bathing areas, and dogs face seasonal restrictions on the central stretch from May to September while the northern and southern ends stay open all year. The sea is cold, around 13-16 degrees in summer, and surf here is gentler than Scarborough's, which makes it good for beginners and paddleboarders on a calm day. Public toilets sit at Coble Landing, the Country Park and the top of Cargate Hill.

Filey has its own station on the Yorkshire Coast line between Scarborough and Hull, with roughly hourly trains, and it is a ten-minute downhill walk from the platform to the promenade; a single from Scarborough is about £5 and takes 12 minutes. Buses 12 and 13 run frequently from Scarborough and Bridlington along the coast road. By car it is on the A165, about 20 minutes from Scarborough, 45 from Bridlington and an hour and 40 from York via Malton. Park at Coble Landing for the beach, roughly £2 an hour, or in the Country Park on the headland for about £5 for the day, which puts you nearest the Brigg. Street parking on the Crescent is limited and time-restricted. The Cleveland Way arrives on foot from Scarborough in about six miles of cliff walking.

The beach, the promenade, the Country Park paths and the Brigg cost nothing. Parking is the only fixed spend, at roughly £2 an hour at Coble Landing or around £5 a day at the Country Park. Deckchair and windbreak hire in season runs a few pounds; the land train along the front is about £2-£3 a ride. Filey Museum on Queen Street, run by volunteers in two seventeenth-century cottages, charges a small admission of a few pounds and opens afternoons in season. Fish and chips at the front are £11-£14, a crab sandwich about £6. Paddleboard and kayak hire from local operators starts around £20 for a couple of hours. Rooms in Filey are among the better value on this coast at roughly £75-£140 a night in summer, cheaper than Whitby or Scarborough for equivalent quality.

Low tide on a bright morning is when Filey is at its best: the sand goes on forever and the Brigg is walkable. Before 10:00 the beach is nearly empty even in August, and the light north towards the Brigg is at its best early. July and August fill the promenade and the car parks by mid-morning, though the beach is so large that it never feels as crowded as Scarborough's. June and September are ideal, with warm water by North Sea standards and space to yourself. Winter brings gales straight off the sea and a largely shuttered front, but the walk to the Brigg on a cold clear day is superb. Filey Fishing Boat Festival and the town's summer events fill particular weekends, when accommodation tightens.

This is the most family-friendly beach on the North Yorkshire coast: shallow gradient, firm sand, lifeguards in season and no cliffs to fall off on the main stretch. The promenade is level and step-free, with ramps to the sand at Coble Landing, so wheelchairs and buggies work well along the front, though the Brigg and the cliff steps do not. Rock-pooling children love the Brigg at low water. Anyone with an hour between trains can walk down, see the beach and get back up Cargate Hill, which is steep. Skip the Brigg entirely with toddlers, in a swell, or on a rising tide.

Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve, ten miles south, has the largest mainland gannet colony in England and puffins from April to July, and is the strongest half-day pairing with Filey. Flamborough Head and its lighthouse are 20 minutes further. Scarborough, with its two bays and the castle headland, is 20 minutes north by train or bus. Hunmanby Gap, three miles south along the sand, has a beach cafe and is the classic low-tide walk from Filey. Inland, Malton and its food scene are 40 minutes west, and the market town makes a good touring base if you want to be between coast and moors.

Honest caveats: Filey has no cliff-lift, no big amusements and none of the noise of its neighbours, which is precisely why regulars like it and why teenagers sometimes find it dull after a day. The Brigg is oversold in photographs, which rarely show that it is submerged for most of the tidal cycle and that reaching its end involves half a mile of awkward, weed-covered rock. Sea fret can sit on the bay for days in early summer, hiding the view entirely while inland is sunny. And the walk back up from the beach to the town, whether by Cargate Hill or the Crescent gardens, is a genuine climb that catches people out at the end of a long day on the sand.

Plan your visit TicketsFree Free entryYes Time neededHalf day WhereFiley Opening hours Beach and Brigg accessible at all times, tide permitting RNLI lifeguards on the main beach in summer, roughly 10:00-18:00 Filey Museum, Queen Street, afternoons in season Hotels near Filey Beach and Filey Brigg

Questions about Filey Beach and Filey Brigg

How much does Filey beach cost?

The beach, promenade, Country Park and Brigg are all free. Parking is the only fixed cost: roughly £2 an hour at Coble Landing beside the slipway, or about £5 for the day at the Country Park on the headland. Extras are small, with deckchair hire a few pounds, the promenade land train around £2-£3, and Filey Museum a few pounds for admission. Fish and chips on the front cost £11-£14 and paddleboard hire starts near £20.

Are there free hours or free days?

The seafront has no gate, so access is free every hour of the year, including at night. What varies is the tide, which governs how much beach exists and whether the Brigg is walkable. Parking charges usually run through the daytime and stop in the evening, so an early walk before 09:00 or an evening one after the machines stop is genuinely free. Filey Museum charges its small admission whenever it opens, in the afternoons in season.

How long should I allow?

Half a day. An hour on the main beach, an hour rock-pooling on the Brigg at low water and a walk through the Country Park fills four to five hours easily, and a full family beach day runs longer. If you are walking south to Hunmanby Gap and back on the sand, that is three miles each way and about two and a half hours. A quick look between trains needs 45 minutes including the climb back up Cargate Hill.

Is the beach ever closed?

No, though the tide closes the Brigg twice a day and the north end of the sand disappears under the cliffs at high water. Lifeguards patrol the central beach only in summer, roughly 10:00-18:00; outside that, swimming is unsupervised. Dog restrictions apply on the main lifeguarded stretch from May to September, with the northern and southern ends open all year. After storms, sections of the Country Park cliff path can be closed for erosion works.

Do I need to book anything?

Nothing on the beach requires booking. Paddleboard and kayak hire and any coasteering sessions should be reserved a day or two ahead in summer, as operators run small groups. Restaurants on the Crescent fill on summer weekends and are worth a call. Accommodation is the main thing to plan: Filey rooms run about £75-£140 a night in season, better value than Scarborough or Whitby, but the town books out for its summer festival weekends.

What is the nearest station?

Filey station, on the Yorkshire Coast line between Scarborough and Hull, is a ten-minute downhill walk from the promenade. Trains run roughly hourly; a single from Scarborough takes about 12 minutes and costs around £5, and from Bridlington about 15 minutes. Buses 12 and 13 link Scarborough, Filey and Bridlington along the coast road and stop in the town centre. Drivers take the A165 and park at Coble Landing or the Country Park on the headland.

Where to stay

Hotels near Filey Beach and Filey Brigg

Live prices · free cancellation
Browse

Every hotel we cover in Filey

24 with a full page

More things to do

All things to do

From the journal

All posts