Robin Hood's Bay North Yorks

Robin Hood's Bay lies 5 miles south of Whitby just off the main coast road between Whitby and Scarborough. This gem of a coastal village is reminiscent of St Ives and Clovelly in Cornwall and is steeped in smuggling history. Today it is a haunt for artists and is popular with tourists but the village still manages to maintain its original charm.

There are a few tiny shops on the steep, narrow main street selling provisions, sea side toys, buckets and spades and gifts but thankfully the level of commercialisation is low. There are a couple of olde worlde pubs at the bottom of the bank which serve welcome refreshments on a summer's day and also sell excellent bar meals.

Numerous alley ways lead to hidden cottages, gift shops or to the beach and are worth exploring. At high tide the sea laps the very bottom part of the road while low tide reveals a sandy beach with plenty of rock pools for the children to explore.

This area of coast line is known for its fossils and a close look at the loose rocks scattered along the beach will soon reveal fossilised ammonites and belemnites. Over the years, the area has yielded up a number of famous fossils of saurians (fossil marine reptiles) several ichthyosaurs, a plesiosaur and a teleosaurus (crocodile like creature). Many of these are now on display at Whitby Museum.

With the inclusion of a bar meal, a wander through the alleyways and time for the kids to explore rock pools and hunt fossils this is easily a full day out with nearby Whitby a tempting stop over on the way back

How To Get There

Robin Hood's Bay lies 5 miles south of Whitby just off the main coast road between Whitby and Scarborough (A171). The village is signposted from the A171.

Map

Park in the Pay and Display car parks at the top of the village beside the old railway line before walking the pavement that soon descends steeply through the village. There are toilets in the main car park.

Do not attempt to travel down by car as the single, narrow road leads directly into the North Sea and allows little room for turning. There is no room for vehicles to pass each other.

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Days Out

Robin Hood's Bay