Coming up, we visit the wonderful fishing village of Robin Hood's Bay, clinging to the cliff edge of
the North Yorkshire Coast. Tiny, adorable streets and alleyways, stories of smuggling, sea captains
and wonderful coastal views await us as we ascend the cliff edge. Keep watching to find out more.
Robin Hood's Bay is situated just six miles southeast of Whitby and is a charming and quirky
fishing village to visit. It's on the cinder trail that we showed you in our last video of Whitby, so
you could walk here in under two hours. We parked at the top of the village. It's very popular and
coming late afternoon we were fortunate to get a space. Parking was £3.30 for two hours.
Be prepared for some steep up and downhill walking,
the village is tucked away on the side of the coastal cliffs. Slow and steady wins the race.
We know it as Robin
Hood's Bay but the locals call it just Bay or Baytown.
Legend has it that the famous outlaw Robin Hood thwarted an attack by French Pirates to pillage
the fisherman's boats along the coast, returning the loop to the poor people of the village.
Heading down we find a number of independent shops selling antiques and well-made craft items.
The sign informs us that the cast iron water fountain that once provided all
the drinking water for the village was replaced with a similar example in 2016.
The Laurel Inn is a tiny drinking hole with a small outside bench to have a pint on.
This building Beckfield was the old police station that opened at the time the railways
arrived in 1885. Notice the mouse on the post, the signature of Yorkshire
Furniture maker Robert Mousey Thompson. I have no idea why it's on the gate post?
The Village dates back to the 1500s and many of the houses were built between 1650 and
1750 when the majority of the villagers were involved in the fishing industry, however,
Viking settlers were fishing these waters a thousand years before that.
It might surprise you, as it did me that, at one time the fishing port here was bigger
than at Whitby. Cod, herring, lobster and crab were all being caught in the area.
Before we arrive at the sea wall, let's take a detour up this tiny alleyway and think about the
smugglers of the 18th century that favoured this village to land their contraband having
crossed over from the continent. High taxes made smuggling a profitable occupation, rum, tobacco,
teas and silks were all on board. Arriving in the dead of night landing on the beach where gangs
would swiftly whisk away the treasures through the alleyways, secret underground passageways
and tunnels, heading inland for sale. The coroner's room is now the local museum and
the place to come for more stories and history like this. It's run by volunteers so not always
open as it wasn't today. A sign on the main road directs you here from another alleyway.
At the sea wall is a small dock for launching boats and for walking down onto the beach, not today mind you,
the tide is high and the seas are quite rough!
The Bay Hotel on the sea wall is a nice pub, hotel and restaurant offering fabulous Seaview rooms.
Interestingly the coast-to-coast walk from St Bees in Cumbria ends here in the bay.
192 miles of walking paths across the country.
Opposite is the old Coast Guard Museum, full of nautical tales and the history of the sea and
coast around the bay. Some steps to the left point us to the beach and the quarterdeck.
A coal brig named The Visiter ran aground in Robin Hood's Bay during a storm in 1881. Snow
was eight feet deep and none of the boats in the bay were good enough to help with
the rescue. The Whitby lifeboat was deployed, however, the storm stopped it from getting down
the coast. Horses and the men pulled the boat along the cliffs with volunteers digging out
the snow on the way. They miraculously managed to cover the six miles in just over three hours,
launching the boat for the second time in the bay and rescuing the crew of The Visiter.
When the tide is out you can walk along the shoreline to Boggle Hole. Legend
has it that mischievous hobgoblins or boggles lived here in the caves.
Let's continue our walk up King Street to the seawall mosaics and for more views
of the coastline which is taking a bit of a battering this afternoon.
The mosaics run along the wall charting the history from Jurassic times to the present day with a variety of subjects.
We are now cutting across many of the alleyways and lanes enjoying the
cottages and scenery as we make our way back to the top of the village.
It really is great fun to explore all the little nooks and crannies of the lanes.
One moment you're walking uphill and the next you're dipping down,
get lost for half an hour and enjoy the delights of Robin Hood's Bay.
Phew, there we go, that was quite an effort to get back up the hill but we're back at the
top. What a beautiful little fishing village that was. Robin Hood's Bay,
really enjoyed visiting here today. Hope you enjoyed being with us as we walked around.
Do join us again on the next video, subscribe to our channel,
give us a like and all those things! Thanks for watching and we'll see you again soon bye-bye.