Runswick Bay – Sandsend Walk – 5.8 miles
Sandsend – Whitby – 3 miles
This has to be my favourite walk ever, now partly I think this is because, the hard bit is all at the beginning when I have most of my energy, then it is all very pleasant. Just walking alongside the coast, very quiet surroundings, you can almost see the sea at all times and the area is very quiet.
So almost outside our B&B, across the road is the bus stop for bus number 4 or X4 heading towards Loftus. It is a very quick trip up to Runswick Bay, about 10-15 mins maximum. The bus goes on the road at the top of Runswick Bay which is where we get off. I always pop to get myself a cake from ‘The Shed’ – Beech Grove Bakery, she makes the most amazing cakes and bread.
So with your back towards the pub and the bakery, you head down the steep hill towards the sea. Once down at the sea front, there are toilets just by the lifeboat station, there is also a café there if you fancy a drink before you set off.
Turn right and walk along the beach until you are past the middle and there you will find a cluster of rocks (as seen on my photo below, its not that obvious if you haven’t been before). At times when the water is gushing down, it is a little tricky to climb up as there isn’t a path as such but I just stick to the right hand side and eventually you find the steps and the rope handle. Then it is across the wooden bridge and a climb up the steps. These can be muddy some of the time so make sure you have decent footwear.
Once you climb up these steps right to the top and look back on the view, you can see how high you have climbed up and just take a moment to catch your breath and take in your surroundings.
From there on, it is a pleasant few hours walk along the coastal path. There are plenty of stops where you can take in the scenery, peer down at the sea and look back at where you have walked. The views are just spectacular.
Towards the end of the walk, once again there are steep steps, this time, heading down towards Sandsend. There are plenty of benches and view points looking forward towards the beach and Sandsend. The walk talks approximately 2.5 hours and this is at a steady pace. From Sandsend to Whitby, its another 45mins.
No matter how many times I do this walk, I never tire of it and I always love having Sandsend as a stop off for a few drinks or lunch. There are plenty of choices whether it’s a pizza on the beach front at Tides, fish and chips at the newly opened Fish Cottage (by the bridge) or the only pub – Harts End which has a lovely beer garden at the back of the pub.
So if you walk from Runswick Bay to Whitby, you will have walked 8.8 miles in total. If you fancy a bit of a longer walk, you can stay on the bus and get off at Staithes and then walk back towards Runwick Bay which adds a further 3.3 miles onto the walk (roughly over an hour). So in total you could have a full day walking of around 12 miles and just under 5 hours.
Excellent day out.
Michelle, Corra Lynn B&B, Whitby