Robin Hood's Bay

Where it is, and getting there

Robin Hood's Bay sits on the coast six miles south of Whitby, at the eastern edge of the North York Moors National Park. By car it is 15 minutes from Whitby on the A171 and B1447, about an hour from Pickering over the moor road through Goathland, and around 30 minutes north of Scarborough. Buses run along the coast road from both Whitby and Scarborough and stop at the top of the village, check the current timetable before relying on the last one back.

Two car-free approaches are better than the drive if you have the legs for them: the Cinder Track, the old Whitby–Scarborough railway line, which runs level all the way from Whitby and is fine on a hybrid bike (see our cycling guide), and the Cleveland Way cliff path, seven spectacular miles from Whitby Abbey.

Parking: the one thing to get right

Park in the pay-and-display car park at the top of the village, off Station Road, and walk down. The old village is a scheduled maze of cobbles and steps with no visitor parking whatsoever; the road down the bank is for residents, deliveries and the occasional very brave driver, and there is nowhere to turn at the bottom. Cars do get stuck and cars do get ticketed.

The top car park is large but fills by mid-morning on summer weekends and through the school holidays. Arrive before ten or after four for the best of it. There are toilets at the top and near the slipway, and a seasonal shuttle bus sometimes runs down the bank in high summer, ask in the village rather than counting on it.

Walking the bank

From the car park to the slipway is about half a mile down a gradient of roughly 1 in 3. It is ten minutes down and a good twenty back, and the return climb catches people out, particularly with small children, a pushchair or a dog that has already had its walk. Wear proper shoes: the cobbles are polished and slick in the wet.

The reward is the village itself. Openings between the cottages lead into alleys and passages (the “bolts”) that thread between houses and open onto tiny yards. This was one of the busiest smuggling coasts in England, and the village layout is the evidence. Take the Openings and Chapel Street rather than following everyone straight down the main run, the best of Bay Town is off to the sides.

The beach, the tide and the scars

At high water the sea reaches the sea wall and there is no beach at all. Two hours either side of low tide, a huge shelf of rocky scars is uncovered, flat ledges of shale and limestone, full of pools, and one of the best rock-pooling shores in Yorkshire. Check a tide table for Whitby or Robin Hood's Bay before you set off; it changes the day completely.

The same rocks make this prime fossil-hunting country. Ammonites and belemnites weather out of the Jurassic shales and are found loose on the foreshore, collect from the beach, never hammer the cliffs, and keep well clear of the cliff base, which is actively slipping.

Boggle Hole lies a mile south: a wooded cove with a National Trust connection, a youth hostel and cafe, named after the “boggles”, goblins, of local folklore. You can walk there along the beach at low tide, but do it on a falling tide only, or take the cliff path and come back along the shore.

Pubs, food and dogs

The Bay Hotel at the very bottom is where Coast to Coast walkers dip a boot in the sea and sign the book; the Dolphin and the Laurel Inn, a tiny former fisherman's bar, are the village institutions, and the Victoria Hotel at the top has the view down over the whole bay. Add tea rooms, a chip shop, an ice-cream shop and a good bakery on the way down.

It is a thoroughly dog-friendly village: most pubs welcome dogs, the beach is open to them outside the summer restriction on the main bathing stretch, and the cliff path and Cinder Track are on the doorstep. More ideas in our dog-friendly pubs guide and the wider food and drink section.

Walks from the village

Boggle Hole circular (about 3 miles). South along the Cleveland Way to Boggle Hole and Stoupe Beck, back on field paths or, tide allowing, along the beach. Short, varied and the classic first walk here.

Ravenscar and the Cinder Track (about 8 miles). Cliff path south to Ravenscar, the “town that never was”, with alum works ruins and seals often hauled out below, returning level along the old railway. A proper day out.

Whitby along the coast (about 7 miles one way). North on the Cleveland Way to Whitby Abbey, with the bus or the Cinder Track for the return. See more routes across the park in our walks section.

Making a day, or a few days, of it

Bay Town pairs naturally with Whitby, Staithes and Runswick Bay along the Heritage Coast, and it is an easy add-on to a moors trip: the drive over from Goathland and the steam railway takes half an hour of good moorland road. Half a day covers the village; a full day covers the village, the scars at low tide and a cliff walk. See our suggested itinerary and where to stay for how to fit it in.

Robin Hood's Bay FAQs

Where do you park in Robin Hood's Bay?

In the pay-and-display car park at the top of the village, on Station Road. The old village below is a steep, narrow maze of cobbled alleys with no visitor parking at all, and the bottom of the bank is for residents and deliveries only. Park at the top, walk down, and allow for the climb back up.

How steep is the walk down into Robin Hood's Bay?

The bank drops roughly 1 in 3 over about half a mile from the car park to the slipway. Going down takes ten minutes; coming back up takes twenty and a stop or two. It is hard going with a pushchair or limited mobility, there is a seasonal shuttle bus in summer, but check locally whether it is running before you rely on it.

Do you need to check the tide at Robin Hood's Bay?

Yes. The sea comes right up to the sea wall at the bottom of the village at high tide, and the rocky scars that make the beach so good for rock-pooling and fossils are only exposed either side of low water. Check a tide table for Whitby or Robin Hood's Bay before you go, and never walk the beach towards Boggle Hole on a rising tide.

Is Robin Hood's Bay dog friendly?

Very. Dogs are welcome on the beach outside the summer restriction that applies to the main bathing area, most of the pubs and several cafes take dogs, and the cliff path and Cinder Track both make good lead-free-ish walking. Bring a towel, the scars are wet, muddy and irresistible.

How far is Robin Hood's Bay from Whitby?

About six miles south, roughly 15 minutes by car on the A171 and B1447, or an hour by bus. On foot it is around seven miles along the Cleveland Way cliff path, or a flatter ride or walk on the Cinder Track, the old railway line between the two.

Why is it called Robin Hood's Bay?

Nobody knows. The outlaw connection is a late legend with no evidence behind it; the village's real history is fishing and, above all, smuggling. Locals still say contraband could pass from the shore to the top of the bank without seeing daylight. Villagers call it Bay Town, or simply Bay.