Scarborough
Things to do in Scarborough
Two great bays either side of a castle headland, an oriental park that stages a miniature naval battle, a Victorian spa with its own orchestra, a clifftop theatre that fills with tens of thousands each summer, and a circular museum built around the ideas of the man who drew the first geological map of Britain.
South Bay and the Grand Hotel after dark, Scarborough.
The two bays
The geography is the whole story. A headland crowned by a castle divides the town in two. South Bay is the traditional, bustling side: harbour, arcades, donkey rides, ice cream, the old town climbing the hill and the Spa along the front. North Bay is quieter and more natural, a long open beach, surfers, rock pools, parks and gardens.
Marine Drive links the two around the base of the headland: a flat, fully surfaced half-hour walk, spectacular in a heavy sea. Choosing which bay you are in charge of for the day is the first decision every visitor makes.
Scarborough Castle
The headland fortress between the bays, run by English Heritage. The ground has been occupied for something like 3,000 years, Bronze Age settlement, a Roman signal station, then a medieval royal fortress. The stone castle you see is largely of the 1150s, Henry II's great keep at its heart, and it endured a bitter Civil War siege in 1645.
Vast grassy baileys, the ruined keep, and views along the coast in both directions justify the climb on their own. Check current admission and opening times on the English Heritage website before you travel. Our abbeys and castles guide puts it alongside the rest.
Peasholm Park
North Bay's oriental-themed park: pagoda, waterfall, wooded island and a boating lake with dragon pedaloes, holding a Green Flag award. Its famous Naval Warfare display, a miniature battle fought with model warships on the lake, has been a Scarborough tradition since 1927. Display days are seasonal; check locally.
Scarborough Spa
The Victorian complex on South Bay where the town's spa story began, now a concert and entertainment venue with the resident Spa Orchestra and an annual jazz festival. Check the current programme and opening before planning an evening around it.
Scarborough Open Air Theatre
On the North Bay clifftop, one of the largest open-air venues in Europe and a genuine summer draw with big-name concerts. Book well ahead, beds in town sell out on concert nights, and check the current programme.
Museums and culture
The Rotunda Museum is a beautiful purpose-built circular museum of 1828, designed around the ideas of the geologist William Smith, with Yorkshire's Jurassic fossils and dinosaur footprints. Pair it with our fossil-hunting guide.
The Stephen Joseph Theatre is the in-the-round theatre long associated with Alan Ayckbourn, who premiered most of his plays here. St Mary's Church, dating from around 1150 below the castle, holds Anne Brontë's grave in its churchyard; she died in Scarborough in 1849 and used the town in Agnes Grey. And you cannot miss the Grand Hotel: a colossal Victorian pile over South Bay, one of the largest brick buildings in Europe when it was built.
With kids
SEA LIFE Scarborough, the aquarium and seal sanctuary at the far end of North Bay, is the reliable wet-weather answer, and the North Bay Railway, the miniature line down to Scalby Mills, gets you there in style. Add the two beaches, the pedaloes at Peasholm and the arcades on South Bay and a day fills itself.
Vintage machinery and the cliff lifts
Scarborough earns its place in a classic-car itinerary through The Scarborough Fair Collection, a working collection of vintage cars, steam engines and mechanical fairground organs, with a ballroom and rides. Add the town's funicular cliff lifts, among the oldest in Britain, and the open-top bus along the front, and it is a good day for anyone who likes machinery. Our driving routes and the touring journal run the moor roads that get you here; the 843 Coastliner does the scenic version without a steering wheel.
Beaches and walks
Both bays have Blue Flag beaches. South Bay is the classic bucket-and-spade sand, backed by the front and the harbour, busy in season and easy with small children. North Bay is broader, wilder and cleaner-lined, with surf schools, rock pools at low tide and far fewer people in the shoulder months. See our beaches guide.
Above South Bay, the South Cliff Italian Gardens give formal planting and long views, reached by cliff lift or a zig-zag path. Oliver's Mount, the hill south of town, is the big viewpoint over the bays and the coast.
For longer legs, the Cleveland Way passes through, heading north along the cliffs towards Robin Hood's Bay and on to Whitby, see our walks section and the cycling guide, since the Moor to Sea network links Scarborough with Dalby Forest and Whitby.
Making a day of it
A good day: North Bay and Peasholm first thing, the miniature railway or SEA LIFE with children, then Marine Drive round the headland to South Bay, fish and chips before the queues, and the castle or the Italian Gardens in the afternoon. Come over the A170 from Pickering and pair it with the rest of the Yorkshire coast.
Things to do in Scarborough: FAQs
What is the difference between Scarborough's two bays?
South Bay is the traditional resort: harbour, arcades, donkey rides, ice cream, the old town and the Spa, with the castle headland above. North Bay is quieter and more natural, a long beach good for surfing and rock pools, plus Peasholm Park, the Open Air Theatre, SEA LIFE and the North Bay Railway. Marine Drive links the two around the headland in about 30 flat minutes on foot.
Is Scarborough Castle worth visiting?
Yes, as much for the position as the ruins. It stands on the headland between the two bays, on ground occupied for around 3,000 years, and the visible ruins date mainly from the 1150s, including Henry II's great stone keep. It was besieged during the Civil War in 1645. English Heritage run the site, so check current admission and opening times on their website before you travel.
What is the Naval Warfare display at Peasholm Park?
A miniature naval battle staged on the boating lake at Peasholm Park, with model warships and pyrotechnics. A Scarborough tradition running since 1927. The park itself is oriental-themed, Green Flag-awarded, and has dragon pedaloes on the lake. Display days are seasonal, so check the current dates locally before planning around them.
Where is Anne Brontë buried?
In the churchyard of St Mary's Church, below Scarborough Castle. Anne Brontë came to Scarborough for her health and died here in 1849; she had used the town in her novel Agnes Grey. The church itself dates from around 1150, and the grave is signposted from the path.
Is Scarborough good with kids?
Very. Two Blue Flag beaches, the harbour and arcades on South Bay, dragon pedaloes and the Naval Warfare display at Peasholm Park, the North Bay Railway down to Scalby Mills, SEA LIFE Scarborough at the far end of North Bay, and the funicular cliff lifts between front and clifftop. The Rotunda Museum's Jurassic fossils cover a wet afternoon.