Robin Hood's Bay is the eastern finish of the Coast to Coast Path: a knot of red-pantiled cottages tumbling down a steep ravine in the cliffs to the North Sea, 6 miles south of Whitby in the North York Moors National Park. The name's link to the outlaw is almost certainly a later invention - what the village really knew was smuggling. By the late 18th century 'Bay Town' was reckoned the busiest smuggling community on the Yorkshire coast: contraband tea, gin, brandy and tobacco moved through a warren of cellars and connecting ginnels, and it was said a bale of silk could pass from the shore to the cliff top without ever leaving the houses. King's Beck still races down the slipway at Wayfoot, where Wainwright's walkers by tradition dip their boots in the sea and lob in the pebble carried from St Bees. The Bay Hotel at the dock, home to Wainwright's Bar, is the traditional finishing post. The dark Jurassic scars revealed at low tide are among Britain's finest fossil beaches - the Wine Haven section nearby is the global reference point (GSSP) for the base of the Pliensbachian Stage of the Early Jurassic.
Highlights
- The finish ritual at the Wayfoot slipway - dip your boots and throw in the St Bees pebble
- Wainwright's Bar at the Bay Hotel by the dock, the traditional Coast to Coast finishing post
- The cascade of red-pantiled cottages and the maze of ginnels and 'bolts' down the ravine
- 18th-century smuggling heritage - cellars and passages where 'a bale of silk could pass top to bottom without seeing daylight'
- Jurassic fossil scars and the globally important Pliensbachian GSSP at Wine Haven
- National Trust Old Coastguard Station visitor centre (geology, wildlife and smuggling exhibits)
At a glance
| Period | Smuggling era (18th century) |
|---|---|
| Stage | 16 — Grosmont to Robin Hood's Bay |
Take care
- Exposed, eroding clifftop on the final Cleveland Way approach - stay back from unfenced edges in wind or fog
- Rising tide can cut off the lower beach and scars; rocks are slippery - check tide times
- Very steep village bank; no parking at the bottom - use the top car park
- Patchy mobile signal on the moor and clifftop
- Long final day (15 mi / 24 km with two climbs) - start early and carry water for the dry high-moor stretch
History
A fishing settlement grew on the coast around 1500, the population having drifted down from the inland hamlet of Raw; in the 16th century the bay was reportedly a more important port than Whitby. John Leland recorded it in 1536 as 'a fischer tounlet of 20 bootes', and the name appears as 'Robyn Hoodis Baye' in 1544. The village's heyday of notoriety came in the late 18th century, when smuggling was endemic - an isolated harbour ringed by marsh made it ideal. In 1773 two revenue (excise) cutters, the Mermaid and the Eagle, were outgunned and chased from the bay, and in 1779 a battle was fought on the dock over 200 casks of brandy and gin (geneva) and 15 bags of tea. Line- and herring-fishing from cobles peaked in the mid-19th century before declining; the railway arrived in 1885 (closed 1965) and tourism now sustains the village. Robin Hood's Bay became the eastern terminus when Alfred Wainwright devised his Coast to Coast route, and on 26 March 2026 the path opened as an official National Trail.
Myth & legend
Despite the name there is no real link to Robin Hood; the most colourful tale claims the outlaw repelled French raiders from these cliffs and was rewarded with the village's name.
Geology
The cliffs are built of dark Upper Lias shale capped by the harder Dogger and sandstones and shales of the Lower Oolite, a classic Yorkshire Jurassic sequence. At low tide the sea peels back to reveal wide curving 'scars' of wave-cut rock and a celebrated fossil beach - ammonites, belemnites and bivalves wash out especially after winter storms from rocks of the Early Jurassic, roughly 185 million years old. The Wine Haven section, about 3 km to the south-southeast, is internationally important: it is the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP), the worldwide reference, for the base of the Pliensbachian Stage of the Early (Lower) Jurassic.
Wildlife & nature
The intertidal scars are a rich rocky-shore habitat for rock-pooling - crabs, anemones, blennies and sea urchins - and the cliffs and bay support seabirds and passing seals; the National Trust's Old Coastguard Station lends free Tracker Packs for fossil-hunting, birdwatching and rock-pooling. The coast and cliffs around the bay are nationally important for their geology and shore life.
The view
The classic view is from the top of Bay Bank or the old railway path, looking down over the cascade of red roofs to the curve of the bay and the sea beyond. The Cleveland Way clifftop on the approach gives sweeping coastal panoramas; at the bottom, the cobbled Wayfoot slipway and King's Beck frame the harbour, and the maze of ginnels and 'bolts' between the cottages rewards slow wandering.
Photography
Shoot the rooftop panorama from Bay Bank or the disused railway in soft morning or evening light; head down to the Wayfoot slipway at low tide for the wave-cut scars, reflections and fossil rock. The narrow ginnels and the Bay Hotel finish make strong end-of-walk photos. Check tide times - the lower beach and scars are only accessible around low water.
When to visit
As the final stage's endpoint, it is best reached April-October when daylight is long enough for the 15-mile day and the moorland sections are firmest. Summer is busy and accommodation must be booked well ahead; spring and autumn are quieter. Fossils are most exposed after winter storms, but winter brings short days and slippery scars. Always plan the lower-beach visit around low tide.
Getting there
There is no railway in the village (the line closed in 1965). The frequent Arriva X93 bus links Robin Hood's Bay with Whitby (about 6 miles north) and Scarborough; from Whitby trains run on the Esk Valley line and buses continue to wider rail connections. Drivers should use the pay-and-display car park at the top of the village - there is no parking at the bottom and the bank is very steep.
Where to stay
Robin Hood's Bay has B&Bs, guesthouses, the Bay Hotel and Wainwright's Bar by the dock, self-catering cottages and nearby options; Boggle Hole YHA lies a short distance south along the shore/clifftop. Many walkers stay in Whitby and bus in. Book well ahead in peak summer, when the village fills quickly. Baggage-transfer services (e.g. Sherpa Van) serve the C2C and will deliver to most local accommodation if arranged in advance.
Food & water
Water is scarce on the high-moor first half of the stage; fill up in Grosmont and again at the Falling Foss Tea Garden (seasonal) in Littlebeck Wood before the climb onto Low Moor. Robin Hood's Bay has pubs, cafes and shops for the finish. Do not rely on natural sources on the open moor.
Safety
The final clifftop miles on the Cleveland Way are exposed in high wind and sea fret - keep well back from unfenced, eroding cliff edges. On the shore, watch the tide: the scars and beach south toward Boggle Hole can cut you off as the tide rises, and the rocks are slippery. UK emergency number is 999 (or 112) - ask for the Coastguard for cliff or shore incidents, or Police then Mountain Rescue inland; NHS 111 for non-emergencies. Mobile signal is patchy on the moor and clifftop.
Accessibility
The village is famously steep: vehicles and the main car park sit at the top (around Bay Bank), and it is a stiff walk down the bank and through the cobbled streets to the dock and slipway - difficult for wheelchair users and those with limited mobility. The upper village near the car park is largely level. The slipway and lower beach are uneven, cobbled and tidal.
Visitor tips
This is the finish: walk all the way down Bay Bank to the Wayfoot slipway, dip your boots in the North Sea and throw in the pebble you carried from St Bees, then celebrate at Wainwright's Bar in the Bay Hotel. Allow time and energy for the long final day (15 miles, two climbs). Drop into the National Trust Old Coastguard Station for the geology and smuggling displays, and time the lower beach for low tide if you want to see the fossil scars.
Listen: the audio guide
The full narration of this stop's audio guide, in text.
You come over the last rise and there it is at last — the North Sea, wide and grey-green and glittering all the way to the horizon. And below you, tumbling down a steep cleft in the cliff, a jumble of red-roofed cottages falling almost into the water itself. This is Robin Hood's Bay. This is the finish. Coast to coast, sea to sea, from St Bees to here — you have walked the whole width of northern England, and the end is under your feet. There is no other village on the walk quite like it. The old part pours down its steep ravine in a tangle of red pantile roofs, cottages stacked so close that alleyways — the locals call them 'bolts' — squeeze between them, and steps and passages thread down and down to the slipway and the sea. It grew as a fishing community, its living wrung from these hard waters, and in the eighteenth century it grew rich on something else besides: smuggling. This was one of the busiest smuggling havens on the whole Yorkshire coast, a place built, it seems, for the quiet passing of untaxed goods. Despite the name, there is no genuine link to the outlaw Robin Hood; the most colourful old tale merely claims he once drove off raiders from these cliffs and was rewarded with the village's name. Take it, as ever, as legend. So here, at journey's end, is what to look for. First, the descent itself — the steep, cobbled main street dropping through the old village, a proper adventure to walk down, and every turn opening a new view of roofs and sea. Second, the 'bolts': the impossibly narrow alleys and passages that lace the cottages together, made for a village that lived cheek by jowl. Third, the slipway at the very bottom, the Dock, where the street meets the water — the true finishing line of the Coast to Coast. Fourth, the shore itself at low water, a wide scar of rock ledges famous for its fossils, the bones of ancient sea creatures written into the stone. And fifth, the sea — simply the sea, the North Sea, the water you have aimed at for two weeks and more. Do take real care here: mind the tide, which comes in fast across those flat rocks; watch your footing on the wet, steep slipway; and stay well back from the cliff edges above. Now, the story this village keeps best: smuggling. In the seventeen and eighteen hundreds, tea, brandy, gin, and silk poured into hidden coves along this coast to dodge the King's heavy duties, and Robin Hood's Bay was the master of the trade. So dense were the houses, so tangled the cellars and connecting passages, that it was said a bale of silk could pass from the bottom of the village to the top without once seeing daylight — handed hand to hand through a maze of secret doors, from house to house, while the excise men searched in vain. Stand in one of the bolts and you can believe every word of it. And now — you. There is a tradition here, and you have earned it. Walk down to the slipway. Reach into your pocket for the pebble you picked up on the beach at St Bees, on the far Irish Sea, all those miles and days ago, and carried across every fell and dale of England. Throw it into the North Sea. Then dip your boots in the water. Coast to coast, sea to sea — the whole width of a country walked under your own steady feet. Whatever weather, whatever aches, whatever doubts you carried up here from the west, you carried them all the way, and here they end, in the salt and the spray. Stand a moment and let it land. You did this. Well done. Walk safe.
Common questions
How old is Robin Hood's Bay?
Robin Hood's Bay dates from the Smuggling era (18th century) period.
How do I get to Robin Hood's Bay?
There is no railway in the village (the line closed in 1965). The frequent Arriva X93 bus links Robin Hood's Bay with Whitby (about 6 miles north) and Scarborough; from Whitby trains run on the Esk Valley line and buses continue to wider rail connections. Drivers should use the pay-and-display car park at the top of the village - there is no parking at the bottom and the bank is very steep.
Is Robin Hood's Bay accessible?
The village is famously steep: vehicles and the main car park sit at the top (around Bay Bank), and it is a stiff walk down the bank and through the cobbled streets to the dock and slipway - difficult for wheelchair users and those with limited mobility. The upper village near the car park is largely level. The slipway and lower beach are uneven, cobbled and tidal.
When is the best time to visit Robin Hood's Bay?
As the final stage's endpoint, it is best reached April-October when daylight is long enough for the 15-mile day and the moorland sections are firmest. Summer is busy and accommodation must be booked well ahead; spring and autumn are quieter. Fossils are most exposed after winter storms, but winter brings short days and slippery scars. Always plan the lower-beach visit around low tide.
Is there food and water at Robin Hood's Bay?
Water is scarce on the high-moor first half of the stage; fill up in Grosmont and again at the Falling Foss Tea Garden (seasonal) in Littlebeck Wood before the climb onto Low Moor. Robin Hood's Bay has pubs, cafes and shops for the finish. Do not rely on natural sources on the open moor.
Where can I stay near Robin Hood's Bay?
Robin Hood's Bay has B&Bs, guesthouses, the Bay Hotel and Wainwright's Bar by the dock, self-catering cottages and nearby options; Boggle Hole YHA lies a short distance south along the shore/clifftop. Many walkers stay in Whitby and bus in. Book well ahead in peak summer, when the village fills quickly. Baggage-transfer services (e.g. Sherpa Van) serve the C2C and will deliver to most local accommodation if arranged in advance.
What should I know before visiting Robin Hood's Bay?
This is the finish: walk all the way down Bay Bank to the Wayfoot slipway, dip your boots in the North Sea and throw in the pebble you carried from St Bees, then celebrate at Wainwright's Bar in the Bay Hotel. Allow time and energy for the long final day (15 miles, two climbs). Drop into the National Trust Old Coastguard Station for the geology and smuggling displays, and time the lower beach for low tide if you want to see the fossil scars.
Is Robin Hood's Bay safe to visit?
The final clifftop miles on the Cleveland Way are exposed in high wind and sea fret - keep well back from unfenced, eroding cliff edges. On the shore, watch the tide: the scars and beach south toward Boggle Hole can cut you off as the tide rises, and the rocks are slippery. UK emergency number is 999 (or 112) - ask for the Coastguard for cliff or shore incidents, or Police then Mountain Rescue inland; NHS 111 for non-emergencies. Mobile signal is patchy on the moor and clifftop.
Nearby on the route
Plan the visit
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