Walking Cleveland Way, North Yorkshire: what you need to know

The Cleveland Way is a 109-mile route through North Yorkshire. It’s a breathtaking combination of heather-coated moors and stunning coastal scenery that brings the walker some of the most exceptional geology you can see in the UK and at the right time of day, seals.

Development of the Cleveland Way began in the 1930s and we have the Teeside Ramblers Association to thank for it. It was officially opened in 1969 and it is part of the UK National Trails.

We did a mere 15 miles of this walk when we were staying in Scarborough in April 2023. This photo was taken at the beginning of the walk when it still seemed like a really good idea! We approached it by getting the bus to Robin Hood Bay near Whitby (x93) and walking back to Scarborough. It was just £2 on the bus, you can pay with contactless and it took about 40 mins. These buses only go from Scarborough twice an hour, so do check before you travel.

Check your distance!

Now, a word of caution. See the map below? This is the commonly shown map. See the deceptive 13.3 miles? Carry on scrolling for the Cleveland Way reality…

[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m28!1m12!1m3!1d102568.75184994796!2d-0.5456238062517457!3d54.35477443170366!2m3!1f0!2f0!3f0!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!4m13!3e2!4m5!1s0x487f161bb0c3dcd1%3A0x93246c122525e697!2sRobin%20Hood's%20Bay%2C%20Whitby!3m2!1d54.434354899999995!2d-0.5350049!4m5!1s0x487f47bda726afcb%3A0x7e5494bc893fc6d8!2sScarborough%20Castle%2C%20Scarborough%20Castle%2C%20Castle%20Road%2C%20Scarborough!3m2!1d54.2875783!2d-0.38935519999999996!5e0!3m2!1sen!2suk!4v1686423287613!5m2!1sen!2suk&w=600&h=450]

The reality…. that’s SIX MILES MORE. SIX MILES.

Anyway…

From the bus stop on Thorpe Lane in Robin Hood Bay, it’s a short walk down the hill through the most beautiful village to start the Cleveland Way.

The sign for the Cleveland Way is easy to miss so keep your eyes peeled. The steps at the start and the climb are a sign of what’s to come.

This is NOT an easy walk

This walk is not for the faint-hearted. I would actually say it’s more of a hike than a walk. The initial descent in Robin Hood Bay sets the scene – an unsteady, steep cobbled pathway with numerous bays that need to be scaled.

As the crow flies, the walk is long, but not horrendous. In reality, the bays, mean a lot of steps and steep climbs. But the beauty is worth it.

Walk this route in proper walking shoes

This route has a variety of different terrains and a couple of streams to walk over. If you attempt to walk it in unsupportive or flimsy shoes you will regret it. Unless you have superhuman ankles and like walking in wet pumps. I invested a couple of years back in a pair of North Face hiking boots. They’re thick-soled, waterproof, ugly a-f and perfect for the Cleveland Way.

Consider if you have time to stop at the Youth Hostel in Boggle Hall

If you’re walking Robin Hood Bay to Scarborough, your first opportunity to stop is at YHA Boggle Hall. It’s a cute hostel in a cove and it’s less than a mile into the official walk, but trust me, it feels like much more. It’s a good location for when you realise you’ve forgotten to go to the toilet in Robin Hood Bay.

The cakes in YHA looked delicious and there was ample seating. But. And there is always a but. The queue moves slowly. I queued 25 minutes with 4 people in front of me. Now I admit I am very impatient, but this seemed excessive.

It’s really well signposted.

Despite it being a quiet path, it’s very well signposted. This means there is no excuse for staring at a map for the whole walk. You can focus on the landscape and unwind!

Check the distance from where you’re staying to the start of the walk

This might seem silly, but our LOVELY Air BnB was about 4 miles from the end of the walk and there was no public transport from the end to the Air BnB (or at the time we finished it on a bank holiday). If you want to do a shorter version of the walk, there is a National Trust Car Park at Ravenscar which will give you an 8 mile loop. There is also a lot flatter, but there are still breathtaking views.

Bring snacks and water with you

Apart from the fact this is a physically demanding walk, there are not many places to buy things. This is one of the beauties of this walk – it is quiet and it is not full of rubbish from cafes. But it also means you need to be prepared and with the climbs on this walk, you will need a good amount of water.

Pack the factor 50 as this walk is exposed

This may seem obvious for a cliff top walk, but even on a more overcast day it’s worth having a good stash of factor 50 with you (and applied to your face!). The wind from the sea and high terrain mean it’s easy to burn without realising it.

National Trust Member? Take your card to scan in Ravenscar

When you get to Ravenscar there is a lovely little National Trust tea shop and a local tea room. The National Trust team appreciates a scan of your card as it helps them get money to support the conservation efforts. I feel I should point out, there is also a flatter and shorter loop walk you can do from here that takes in some of the beauty of the Cleveland Way but might not kill your thighs in the same way. There is a car park in Ravenscar and it’s much more accessible than the main walk.

Now, why have you heard of Ravenscar I hear you ask? Well, the Romans used it as a look out point, but more famously at the end of the nineteenth century it had one of the earliest chemical works in Britain and produced dyes and chemicals for the textile industry. It’s also known as the “town that never was”. Plans were made at the beginning of the twentieth century to turn it into a seaside town to rival Scarborough but it was never to be. Peak Estate Company who bought the site in 1897 went bankrupt in 1911 and all plans were abandoned.

The waterfall

The seaside waterfall at Hayburn Wyke is a wonderful picnic spot and like the National Trust spot, also forms the basis of a number of smaller circular walks (alltrails.com is a great source for these). A waterfall hitting a beach isn’t common in the UK, and it’s lovely.