The North York Moors National Park is home to the popular trail The Cleveland Way. The walk from Whitby to Robin Hood’s Bay is only a small section of the trail but a section that will reward you with beautiful views of rugged cliffs, picturesque bays and if you’re lucky you may even spot a pod of dolphins like we did.
This walk begins in Whitby Harbour where we parked up and headed towards the Gothic Whitby Abbey – famous for inspiring Bram Stoker’s character Dracula. The first challenge you face is walking the 199 steps up to St Mary’s Church and the Abbey (which kills me every time!) Once at the top, you can admire the views of the Abbey and the Harbour. We let Willow and Bobby off for a little sniff here as there is a section of grass and bins for you to dispose of any poo!
Next to the Abbey you’ll find the first of many clearly marked sign-posts. Keeping left this takes you onto the coastal path.
The path leads you along the clifftops where you are presented with dramatic views out to the North sea. We hadn’t walked far before we spotted a pod of dolphins near a fishing boat. We stood for quite a while, mesmerised by them. It was a fantastic sight. These rocky cliffs and shoreline were formed during the Jurassic period, around 180 million years ago and many fossils of plants and animals from that time have been found here.
One very interesting bay you pass over, which is famous for it’s abundance of fossils and the shipwreck of the Admiral Von Tromp, is Saltwick Bay. You can access the bay via steps from Whitby Holiday park. I’ve put this on my list for another day.
Continuing along, you’re soon greeted with views of Whitby Lighthouse. (Often known as Whitby High Lighthouse). The distinctive white building, built in 1858, sits proudly on the edge of the cliff and shines it’s light out over nearby Whitby Rock.
The rest of the walk meanders along the clifftops and we stopped here and there to rest, admire the views and take photos. The coastal path is one that is very well established and easy to walk on but because of the length I’d recommend sensible footwear.
In parts you walk up and down craggy steps; some leading to shallow streams where the spaniels enjoyed a cool drink, even though we did bring our own water for them – there’s nothing like drinking from a stream.
When we started bumping into other keen walkers coming from the opposite direction, we realised we were getting close to Robin Hood’s Bay; soon after, the first sights of the pretty village came into view. This walk took us approximately 3 hours but we are quite quick walkers – we need to be to keep up pace with Willow and Bobby! If you’re wanting a steady walk, that’s easy to navigate, with breath-taking views of the North Yorkshire coast then this trail is for you.
The Cleveland Way trail leads you straight into the village and once there, we headed for the nearest dog-friendly pub for a well deserved drink. The Victoria Hotel, with it’s spacious beer garden, was very inviting and the perfect choice to rest. I was very impressed with the amount of dog bowls filled with water that were scattered around the large tables. Robin Hood’s Bay seems such a lovely village, we’ll definitely be back to explore it some more.
The 6 1/2 mile walk to Robin Hood’s Bay was enough for our tired legs so instead of walking all the way back, we hopped on the bus back to Whitby for an obligatory Whitby fish and chips from the award winning Quayside restaurant.
Our top tips……
- If you arrive early enough there are often some free parking spaces on the main road as you enter Whitby from the A171. Otherwise there are multiple car parks and a park & ride service.
- We let Willow and Bobby off lead for some spells of the walk however, there are some sections where you will need to use a lead. You will come across some livestock and at times the coastal path is dangerously close to the edge.
- Even on a partially cloudy day the coastal breeze is very deceiving so wear sun cream.
- You can catch the bus back to Whitby from Thorpe Lane. It cost us £4.30 for a one way adult ticket.
Spaniels By The Sea 