2 min read

Whitby Coastal Circular

A scenic hike along Whitby's coastline. Take in the views and smell the fresh sea air as you wander along this circular North Yorkshire hike.

At 11km this hike will take you through a number of farmers fields, past cute cottages and a historical lighthouse before wandering along the Cleveland Way back into Whitby town and past the famous Abbey. As a sweet bonus, there's plenty of fish and chip shops to choose from at the end of the hike.

Why you’ll enjoy this Peak District hike:

Whitby is a very historical seaside town and harbour. Every year there are big events from the Whitby Regatta to Goth Weekend. Starting the hike you'll take a walk through some fields with great views of the surrounding landscape but once you get to the coastline the views are absolutely stunning. As you come back into Whitby towards the end of the hike, you'll get clear views of Whitby Abbey as well as make your way down the 199 steps into the town itself.

Points of interest:

With this hike starting and ending in Whitby there's plenty of areas to explore. The main on being Whitby Abbey. If you've never been before it's definitely worth a wander round and if you're part of English Heritage then you don't need to pay for entry. You will be going down the 199 steps next to the Abbey as part of the hike. Along the route you will also pass a lovely lighthouse with picturesque views from the cliffside. Near the car park there's Whitby Museum, Captain Cook Memorial Museum and of course lots of stores near the harbour along Church Street and Sandgate.

Parking:

We found parking at Endeavour Wharf (YO21 1YW) right in the centre of Whitby. It was easy to get to but was very full when we got there. There's an adjacent visitor card park on the other side and plently of other locations to park for a few hours. There were also paid toilets at this car park.

When to go:

For this particular hike, spring and autumn would be great times to complete it. We did it at the beginning of summer and some of the side paths alongside fields were a bit overgrown with nettles. So if you do decide to complete this hike in summer, make sure you have some long sleeves and trousers/leggings to avoid any nettle stinging. As this hike is partially through farmer fields, you will occasionally come across some farm animals or muddy patches with cow pats.

What to pack:

I've created a page on the site for easy access to a handy packing list which you can access here.

Final thoughts:

The absolute best bit of this hike was the coastal walk along Cleveland Way. The views were stunning and it was so picturesque walking back into Whitby from this direction. If you wanted to avoid the farmlands and do a straight there and back hike along Cleveland Way all the way down to Robin Hood's Bay. You will find both routes below and for Robin Hood's Bay you could always get the bus or a taxi back into Whitby.

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