Cayton Bay – July 2021

Cayton Bay: this is probably one of my favourite beach walks. It’s very small at 1.5 miles from end to end but it’s beautiful and isolated. The weather was glorious with strong sunshine from early morning.

You’ll spot Scarborough Castle and Scarborough itself in some of the pictures but it could be a thousand miles away. Just be warned, it’s a very steep descent to get to the beach and a knackering ascent to get back up again!

You’ll find an easily accessible car park near the steps down to the beach. The steps themselves are a challenge as I’ve mentioned.

I just added the pictures of the remains of pill-boxes from the Second World War which are dotted along this coastline. They were meant to help defend the country if there was a Nazi invasion.

Many are now in ruins because coastal erosion has sent them plummeting from cliffs above down to the beach. Occasionally they survive on beaches in good order. They knew how to make stuff then!

These pictures and videos are @Aidan Parr 2021, so please ask permission if you want to use them. I’ll probably say ‘yes’!

Filey Bay – July 2021

I had an enjoyable walk along Filey Bay at the end of July 2021. The town itself isn’t too exciting for me. It’s a perfectly acceptable Victorian seaside resort and gets very popular from late morning onwards. My interest was Filey Bay itself.

I’d originally intended to park on the north side of Filey and walk along the promenade and then on the beach heading south. Unfortunately none of the parking meters were working (neither cash nor card), so after fifteen exasperating minutes I had to move. I eventually ended up parking south of Filey at West Avenue Car Park. Be warned that credit and debit cards didn’t work there either!

Happily it was only a short walk to the beach. Beware of high tides as you head south. It’s perfectly ok to walk about three miles to Hunmanby Gap but then the high tides don’t allow much beach walking. Check high tides here.

There is a car park at Hunmanby Gap but it’s unclear what times it opens if you want an early start. There’s nowhere else to park and you’ll see lots of signs from locals about not blocking driveways. There’s a cafe too.

It was a wild and windy day with some rain but nothing to spoil the morning. The pictures make it all look very grey and forbidding but there were sunny spells ever so often!

Like much of this part of the Yorkshire coast, there’s a lot of coastal erosion and you can see the remains of pillboxes from the Second World War which have fallen from the cliff tops onto the beach. Some still intact!

It gets busy around 11am. A tiny number of visitors are loud and undesirable but the majority of people are perfectly ok.

Click on the pictures to see the area more clearly.

These pictures and videos are @Aidan Parr 2021, so please ask permission if you want to use them. I’ll probably say ‘yes’!

Spurn Head, East Riding – August 2021

A fabulous walk yesterday on Spurn Point which is a longshore spit. The Humber estuary is to it’s west and the North Sea to the east. It’s windy, with fierce tides, beautiful wide open skies and it’s a bit ‘rough’, not at all suited to those who like the gentle sands of leisure beaches. There was hardly anyone there (a bonus!) with around twelve people, including me, at 11am.

I was fascinated by the flotsam and jetsam on the beach, notably several brick walls, rounded by the sea and cast up on the beach. The whole area is very dynamic and constantly changing, as it has done for centuries.

https://assets1.bigthink.com/system/tinymce_assets/5131/original/Lost_Towns_of_East_Yorkshire_.jpg?1490649405

There’s a nature reserve, a lighthouse and views around the promontory. The road was washed away in a storm in 2013 so you’ll have to walk on the beach instead. The sea is not meant for swimming or paddling in (I did try) because of strong currents and the very soft sand. It’s relatively easy to lose your footing. I lost my hiking stick which is now floating somewhere in the North Sea…

Check the high tides as Spurn Head can be cut off at it’s narrowest point, a mere 50 metres wide. Do also look at the signs at the car park about safety if there is a high tide.

Go to the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust website for more information about the area and better photos…

I recommend the fry up in the cafe at the Spurn National Nature Reserve.

Click on the picture to see it more clearly.

These pictures and videos are @Aidan Parr 2021, so please ask permission if you want to use them. I’ll probably say ‘yes’!