Easy Yorkshire Coast Walk - Suitable for All the Family - Hinderwell to Staithes
Enjoy a pleasant relaxing walk with fantastic views from the cliff tops. Get details of this easy coastal walk between Hinderwell and Staithes, near Whitby...
We walked from Hinderwell to Staithes and back - a lovely cliff top walk, with lots of interest to look at.
We did the walk on a lovely, sunny September afternoon - the weather was ideal - pleasantly warm, but not so hot it made it hard going!
We set off from the Serenity Caravan Park at Hinderwell, and followed the lane almost opposite, up towards Port Mulgrave.
Port Mulgrave originated as a working village, based on the needs of the harbour there. The houses are fairly pretty, but arranged in just a few, simple, long rows - purely for convenience sake, I guess.
At the cliff top, look down to the remains of the harbour at Port Mulgrave, itself. A little harbour was built here in 1855, to facilitate the shipping of iron ore from the nearby mines at Skinningrove, Boulby and Grinkle, to the main shipping centres at the River Tyne and the River Tees.
A tunnel (now blocked up) was use to get the iron ore onto the ships in the harbour. There was quite a little industry going on here at one time. You can still see the remains of the harbour wall at Port Mulgrave, if you take the path down the cliffs to the little bay there.
It looked very interesting, (there is an info plaque at the cliff top) but the pathway down (and more importantly - back up!) seemd rather steep to be tackling so early in our walk, so we decided to leave it till another day.
The footpath veers left from here, into fields (the Cleveland Way - the whole route is very well signposted). For much of this Yorkshire coast walk, you are close to the cliff edge, and can enjoy the spectacular views across the North Sea, and down to the rocks below.
Take care, as the cliffs are totally sheer in most places.
As you move inland a little, you begin to move towards the village of Staithes and will enjoy spectacular views across the higgledy-piggledy, red-roofed, white-washed cottages that make up the old village.
You can descend right into the village itself, and enjoy a stroll along the old, cobbled streets, admire the pretty fishing boats in the harbour and river, and take a well-earned break.
There are plenty of tea-shops or pubs in Staithes, and public toilets are available (opposite the beach). We enjoyed a drink and bite to eat from a charming tea shop, right opposite the beach.
Make sure you are well rested, as the walk back up to Hinderwell is somewhat harder-going than the walk down to Staithes.
Steep steps up the hillside are your first hurdle, as you leave the village. Stop for a breather, and turn round to admire the picturesque views over the pretty rooftops.
Pass through a farm yard, then proceed up a rather long incline - Beacon Hill. Again, stop and admire the wonderful views from the top (and/or half way up!). From this point on you can relax, as the going gets a lot easier, and you will soon find yourself back at Port Mulgrave, where you can take the lane back into Hinderwell, or continue along the cliff path, if you choose.
If you want to get the difficult part of the walk out of the way early on, you could reverse the walk, starting at Staithes. You will then find most of the return trip to be an easy, downhill stroll.
We walked the same route there and back, right along this beautiful Yorkshire coast, but there is also a public footpath to the South and West of Hinderwell and Staithes (passing through Dalehouse), that makes a round trip possible.
See the Yorkshire Coast Walk on a Map
This map is interactive.
Just use the + and - buttons in the top left corner of the map to zoom in and out.
Use the arrows to move about the area.
I hope you enjoy this walk along this splendid bit of the Yorkshire coast as much as we did... please check your route on appropriate maps, and take care with the weather and take appropriate safety precautions.
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