Cleveland Way - Scarborough to Whitby (★★★★★)

This walk was the second of two days of walking - starting at Filey, and walking along the coast northwards to Whitby. Having stayed over in Scarborough, this second day would involve a walk from Scarborough up to Whitby. Click for the writeup for the previous walk, walking along the Cleveland Way from Filey to Scarborough.

Scarborough is underrated as a spot to go walking from. It is very easy to reach from York on the train line, it is very cheap to stay in, and has walks to the north via the Cleveland Way and Tabular Hills Way, and to the south the Cleveland Way soon joins up with the Yorkshire Wolds Way. 

But of all these walks, this one is the best - and it is in my opinion one of the best coastal walks in England - heading from Scarborough to Whitby, via Ravenscar and Robin Hood's Bay.

I head out very early, and head down the steps from my hotel at St Nicholas Cliff (convenient, but noisy in terms of seagull noise). 

This takes me out for a quiet walk along the seafront - looping round the castle, and then coming round to North Bay. And as I head round the castle and to North Bay, people are starting to head out for the day.

He wasn't very chatty - I'm not sure he liked me

Heading along the beach, you eventually pass by the Sea Life centre, and then head over a footbridge and up to Long Nab, above Scalby Ness.

Heading over the footbridge

Up on the cliffs, it is quiet again, and here you find one of those perfect sections of cliff walking, where you have open grassland to the left (with views out towards the North York Moors), and great views out to sea to the right.

Not too far ahead, the turn off for the Tabular Hills walk can be found. This I have so far walked as far as Pickering - and it is an enjoyable walk, albeit one that involves a lot of forest walking - and I plan in the coming years to walk this trail from here round to Helmsley, and the start of the Cleveland Way (completing a loop around the North York Moors).

View towards the Moors from near Cromer Point

Forward view from roughly the same point

The path heads on through this landscape, without too many changes, other than a small diversion round to a car park and back, at Crook Ness.

From here, you head slightly north-easterly to Long Nab, and then back northwest, heading to Hundale Point. Here the path turns inwards, giving better views of the cliffs ahead.

Cloughton Wyke

In the next section of walking there are more obvious signs of on-going coastal erosion, and so it is best to be sensible through this section - before we head through a small section of slightly overgrown path, before continuing along the cliffs on the far side.

From these cliffs you have good views out to sea, and along here you can sometimes see dolphins (more on this later) - while someone has told me that they have seen a whale along this stretch of coastline.

Eventually we start to cut inland, and here we lose sight of the sea altogether as we head through Hayburn Wyke, which is an attractive bit of forest to walk through (and enough to a novelty on a coastal route to be enjoyed).

Beyond Hayburn Wyke, the path sits between wild meadows on the left, and views out to sea on the right.

Wild meadows on the left and sea on the right (but looking backwards from Petard Point)

This slightly more managed section shows that we are on the approach to Ravenscar, and as we head further towards Ravenscar, a lookout hut and a small radar point - dating back to World War II - come into view to the left, and you can pop over to have a look if you have an interest.

Otherwise, if you are after food you can pull into town early by the old station (which has a popular cafe). And whether you make this diversion or not, the path then continues round the coast (with some nice views at the furthest point), to arrive in the centre of Ravenscar (where there are some toilets by the visitor centre).

Ravenscar is probably the most interesting town along this stretch of coastline and it was originally planned to be a large seaside resort to rival Scarborough, but whilst some of the roads were laid out, little else got built.

Although the railway passed along this spot, it doesn't have the same golden sands as Scarborough or Whitby - and any trips down to the seaside involve quite a long descent (as we are about to find out). 

And this meant it didn't prove to be all that popular, and what remains is a small village with an excessive amount of roads.

But here we do for the first time today meet up - very briefly - with the Cinder Trail, which has also come down from Scarborough (along the old railway track). We will meet up with this trail again in Robin Hood's Bay, and it too will arrive into Whitby, later on in the day.

But having passed the Visitor Centre, this brief acquaintance comes to an end as the Cinder Trail holds it's spot on higher ground, whilst we start to head down towards the coast.

Early on in the descent

Further down the hill

This stretch of walking, from Ravenscar to Robin Hood's Bay is the reason why this walk is (in my opinion) one of the best coastal walks in England - and is truly is an amazing walk if done on a sunny day (and ideally in this direction - sorry people walking from Whitby to Scarborough).

In many ways this section reminds me a lot of Cornish coastal walks, but there is something extra special about how the view opens up from Ravenscar, and Robin Hood's Bay is an exceptional ending to this stretch of coast.

For those interested in doing this shorter stretch only, it is possible to start in either Ravenscar or Robin Hood's Bay - and then head down the Cleveland Way from Ravenscar, or up the Cinder Trail from Robin Hood's Bay - doing a circular walk in the process. And for those wonderful people who opt for public transport over driving - there are buses that serve both towns (Robin Hood's Bay is easier to reach from the north, and Ravenscar is easier to reach from the south).

On the way down we pass through Peak Alum Works. 

Alum was used by the textile industry to make dyes - and the first alum works to be setup in Britain was set up not too far north from here in Guisborough.

Alum was mined - which involved extracting material and then transferring it to leaching pits, to extract aluminum sulphate liquor. This liquor was then sent to alum works, where human urine (it had to be human urine) would be added until alum crystals settled out.

Peak Alum Works opened in 1615 and operated until 1862, by which time synthetic alum had become available - and one of the main challenges of operating the site here would be that of getting the barrels of urine up from boats below (via a tramway, which can just about be seen near our route today).

The alum quarries themselves sat above this spot - and the path of the Cinder Trail cuts through those former alum quarries (where you can in some places see small piles of pink burnt shale).

 

Having made it through these Alum Works, we now cut across the fields, before resuming our downward descent - and now run along the edge of High Scar on our way towards Boggle Hole.

A closer view of Robin Hood's Bay

Just ahead of Boggle Hole, pass pass by Stoupe Beck Sands (the beach in the above photo) - and further down from this beach there is a cut into the cliffs where Mill Beck passes out to see (at Boggle Hole). Here you also find a Youth Hostel, which offers both a cafe and quite a quirky place to stay.

In summer it can be a tricky place to stay as demand often exceeds the number of rooms, but for those walking out of the main season, it can be a very cheap stay in a wonderful location.

Stoupe Beck Sands

Boggle Hole (the Youth Hostel is behind me here)

From here I had to endure a bit of a diversion inland, onto roads to get around some cliff damage on the next section - but I have since walked this route again and the main route of the Cleveland Way has reopened, albeit with the cliffs still being fairly crumbly.

But in any case it is not too far from here to Robin Hood's Bay - which is worth having a bit of a poke around as it is (in my view) the most charming of the villages along this coastline, with a lot of very tiny houses and alleyways. 

The name Robin Hood's Bay seems to be a historic one, with references to Robyn Oeds Bay as early as the 14th century. 

And by the 16th century the port was quite an important one, with the town also participating in a lot of the smuggling going on in the 18th century - with a few scuffles being recorded between smugglers and excise men during this century.

The main industry of the village, however, was fishing - with fishing activity peaking in the 19th century - and then falling into decline.

And these days it is a town that mostly relies on an abundant supply for tourists (who tend to fill up the car park during the summer months). And indeed if you are visiting during the summer, it may be worth using the bus that in summer runs regularly between Middlesborough and Scarborough (and less regularly in winter) to avoid a parking nightmare.

But for us today, the town is also a useful resupply point - and as we start to head out of town (resupplied with food and drink), we are now also walking along the eastern end of the Coast to Coast walk - which ends down by the seafront in Robin Hood's Bay.

Down on the seafront

Having a poke about Robin Hood's Bay

Next we head out of Robin Hood's Bay along the cliffs, briefly joining up with the Cinder Trail as we head out of town - before dropping down off onto the cliffs, with views back over Robin Hood's Bay.

From here you have views out the sea, and on this occasion we get the chance to see some dolphins : (sorry about the quality, but this is the best my phone can do when zoomed in)

This is a great stretch of cliffs, with dramatic views out to the cliffs ahead - and great views out to sea.

This is made all the better by the wide grassy path that runs along the cliffs, which ensures that we are able to head along this busy walking route, without having too much trouble passing other walkers on the way.

Here we are also able to pick out the Coast to Coasters, who are usually carrying large rucksacks, and who all look a little bit jaded by their exertions. 

Looking across at the cliffs ahead

Looking back at the cliffs behind

This starts a long run along this stretch of cliffs, and it is probably the best stretch of cliffs for the day so far. 

But after so far taking quite a bendy route, the cliffs do start to straighten out (somewhat reducing the number of photo opportunities), but it continues to be a good walk, with the area to the left being open fields.

Sometimes when I do this walk I will cut up at Rain Dale, where there is a permissive path that gives great views out as you climb up to the Cinder Trail above - that in turn takes you round into Whitby via an inland route, that is also an enjoyable walk.

But on this occasion we continue on and are rewarded by a particularly impressive section of cliff just down from Hawksker Bottoms, at Maw Wyke Hole (I didn't actually take a photo, but I will try and remember to on a later visit, as it is a great spot).

Here we leave behind the Coast to Coasters, who head up from here towards Falling Foss waterfall - and then on to Grosmont (before eventually winding round to rejoin the Cleveland Way at Bloworth Crossing).

But us Cleveland Wayers have some way to go before we head inland - only doing so at Saltburn - and from here we continue on up the coast, passing the somewhat underwhelming lighthouse at Whitestone Point.

From here it isn't long before before the holiday park ahead becomes a bit of a stain on the horizon, as we pass above Saltwick Beach.

From here the onward path heads along the cliffs - but by now the cliffs are starting to look very unstable, with cracks additionally appearing on the ground - and so I think this will be the last time I walk this route into Whitby (UPDATE - there is now a diversion down onto the road past the Abbey).

 

Soon though, we are passing the Abbey (which is actually a bit ugly from this side due to all the newer buildings that have been added around it) - and descend into a very busy Whitby, where there are plentiful supplies of fish and chips. 

You can't really visit Whitby without stopping off for fish and chips - and ahead of catching my train home, I settle down looking out across the harbour to enjoy my dinner under the watchful eye of the local seagulls.

A pleasant enough view while I have my dinner

As I have mentioned this is a great walk along an amazing stretch of coastline and one that you absolutely should do if you happen to be in the area. It is worth bearing in mind that the cliffs, whilst generally stable, do have some sections that are eroding - and so a walk just after heavy rainfall isn't recommended - but in summer there aren't many more enjoyable walks.

Total Distance: 22.8 miles (22.2 miles on the Cleveland Way)

Total Ascent: 3,071 feet (3,064 feet on the Cleveland Way)

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

Click to see a writeup for the next section of the Cleveland Way from Whitby to Saltburn.

Alternatively, click for a more inland connecting walk, walking along the Esk Valley Walk from Commondale to Whitby.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 94 and 101 OS Landranger maps - while there is also a Cleveland Way guidebook or a Yorkshire Coast Path guidebook (Redcar to Humber Estuary) - which include OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.