Andrew McCloy's has been exploring the England Coast Path for his latest book. Here he describes one of his favourite walks - a well-loved stroll for the festive season.
Why do we like to be beside the seaside so much? It must be the irresistible combination of sight, sound, smell and touch that makes any coastal experience so unique and magical, and nowhere is it more in evidence than on Yorkshire’s high and handsome coastline.
Once the cliffs and bays were walked by coastguard lookouts, fishermen and smugglers, but now we step out on paths for fun and relaxation – and the opportunities are about to get a whole lot bigger. When the England Coast Path is completed in 2023 you will be able to walk around the country’s entire shoreline, which in total is about 2,800 miles or 4,500km! This ambitious new National Trail is already in place along the Yorkshire coast, where it’s concurrent with the long-established Cleveland Way; but you don’t need to yomp long distances to enjoy a fine walk by the sea.
The straightforward day section from Ravenscar to Robin Hood’s Bay featured here uses the coast path and an easy railway trail to deliver a day out full of interest and stunning views – the perfect introduction to the England Coast Path.
The Walk
Ravenscar to Robin Hood’s Bay circular, 8.7 miles/14km
The walk begins in front of the National Trust's visitor centre at Ravenscar, near the public car park.
Today Ravenscar is little more than a village, but at the turn of the twentieth century developers earmarked the prominent clifftop site for a brand new seaside resort to rival neighbouring Scarborough. The railway line had already arrived, and now new roads were laid out, drains dug and several villas built, but the developers' dreams were not shared by enough investors and in 1913 the bubble burst and the company went bankrupt. It was thought that the site was too isolated and exposed, so the new town provisionally called The Peak never materialised.
Take the surfaced track downhill, then following signs for the alum works branch off to the right, across fields, towards the sea. The path now skirts the rocky edge of the bay..
All that’s left of the former alum works are grassy mounds and some brick foundations, but for over two centuries this site was a hive of activity as large amounts of shale was quarried and burned to produce alum, a chemical used to fix dyes in the textile and tanning industries. The finished product would be shipped out from the harbour just below the site, and there were similar works all along the Yorkshire coast.
When you reach a lane turn right and follow this all the way down to each Boggle Hole youth hostel, at the wooded mouth of Mill Beck.
The youth hostel has a popular café, the Quarterdeck, open to the public at weekends. The building is a former water mill that was once used by smugglers to land their contraband, while the name ‘boggle’ is a Yorkshire term for a sometimes mischievous pixie or hobgoblin. They were thought to live in small caves or holes in the cliffs and some people believed that these little spirits had special healing powers, so much so that sickly children were brought to these ‘hob holes’ in the hope of a cure.
If the tide is low and weather conditions are favourable you can walk the mile from Boggle Hole to Robin Hood’s Bay along the beach, perhaps enjoying some rock-pooling or fossil hunting. Otherwise take the path from the youth hostel up on to the low scrubby clifftop and along to the historic fishing village.
Given the popularity of Robin Hood’s Bay in the summer, the winter months are a good time to explore this delightful place in relative peace. The National Trust’s Old Coastguard Station and the Bay Hotel, where Wainwright’s famous Coast to Coast Walk finishes by the slipway, are two highlights of the lower part.
Head steeply up the (only) road for lovely views back over the bay towards Ravenscar. By the car park at the very top turn left on to the former Scarborough-Whitby railway line, now a scenic walking and cycling route known as the Cinder Track.
The Cinder Track is so-called because the track ballast was made from cinders (partly burnt coal or wood) rather than the usual crushed stone. The railway closed in 1965 but the trackbed was mostly saved from development and now it’s a popular recreational trail linking Scarborough to Whitby.
Follow this straightforward, winding route that takes to embankments to cross several deep wooded valleys that plunge down towards the sea. There are lovely views of the bay, especially when the route skirts the open slopes of Brow Moor. Before long you approach Ravenscar and meet the outward route. Follow this back to the start.
The Ravenscar to Robin Hood’s Bay walk is part of a longer outing on the Yorkshire coast included in Andrew’s new book Great Walks on the England Coast Path, published by Cicerone at £20 and featuring a selection of 30 day and weekend walks on the new trail.
