Walks in and around Scarborough

Oliver’s Mount

There’s a maze of foot paths leading up Oliver’s Mount and this walk describes just one way to get to the top for probably the best views over Scarborough including a glimpse of the apartment building.

Leaving by the front door of the building, turn right and head up to Ramshill Road. Take a left turn at the traffic lights, cross the road, and walk uphill to the next traffic lights where you turn right onto St Margaret’s Road. (It’s best to walk on the pavement on the right on St Margaret’s Road as the pavement on the other side peters out.) After a while you’ll see a path with a handrail sloping up the side of the Mount. Cross the road to take this path and follow it up the hill past an impressive house on the left and join a road, keep straight on in the same direction uphill through the woods. There are lovely views on the right of Scarborough and the Yorkshire Moors beyond.

Follow the road until you get to the famous motorcycle racetrack road (make sure you don’t do the walk on a race day!), turn left up the hill. You’ll come to a pedestrian footbridge over the track. Here, you can either take a steep path right next to the bridge on the left going straight up the hill or go a bit further and take the next path on the left which slopes up through the woods. Carry on straight up the hill on man-made steps (quite steep) through the woodland. When you’ve almost reached the top, a sloping path bisects the steps.

Turn left along this path and continue till you emerge at the road where there’s a chance to see more views over Scarborough. Turn left on the road and carry on to the famous viewpoint next to the war memorial. From here there are fantastic panoramic vistas across to the South Bay and beyond on a clear day. You may even be able to spot your less adventurous friends on the balcony of the penthouse or in the bay window at No 8, sipping cocktails! Try and make time to call in at the Oliver’s Mount restaurant which we recommend for ice-cream, coffee, a cool beer, delicious lunch, or afternoon tea (unfortunately it’s not open in the evenings). The restaurant has a veranda at the side and back overlooking stunning views.

Feeling suitably refreshed, continue along the road away from the Memorial and after a short time you’ll see a path sloping down through the woods on the left. The opening is a little difficult to spot in the summer but when you get onto it it’s a good path (though it may be muddy in wet weather).

Follow this path down until you reach the road, turn left at Willersley House which belongs to Scarborough College and after a short while turn right. The road takes you past some large houses and gardens (interesting for the nosier types, like us). When you reach the busy Filey road, turn left back to the traffic lights and carry straight on back home. Alternatively, for an architectural detour, turn left, take the second right down Granville Road, which leads you past the pleasant Granville Square. At the end of the road, turn left on West Street and head back towards Prince of Wales Terrace where a left turn at the lights takes you back to the apartment.

Walk around the Castle

Approximately 45 minutes

This is just one route we enjoyed which starts from Castle Road Car Park. (If you prefer you can go on foot if you don’t mind a longer walk).

From the car park walk up the hill on Castle Road until you reach the Norbreck Hotel (Bay Hotels). Turn left and go towards the railings with a superb view of the North Bay. Turn right at the railings and keep walking with views on your left, up Rutland Terrace and then on to the narrow path and steps alongside the The Castle by the Sea hotel, the path then turns away from the sea and passes under Castle Road (you can visit the castle from here or save this for another time), continue on this path with the steep castle slopes on your left to the surprise view of the South Bay and lighthouse at the end.

Turn back in the direction you’ve come from and continue along the lower path up through the Royal Albert Park emerging back onto Castle Road at the historic St Mary’s Church where you can find Ann Brönte’s grave. Continue back to the car park.

Walk to Cayton Bay

An exhilarating coastal walk along the clifftop path to the sweeping bay at Cayton popular for its surfing beach and woodland walks. Please note this walk may be muddy in wet weather.

You can either catch a bus back from Cayton Bay or leave a car there (if you have two cars) or walk there and back. The walk takes approximately one hour (three miles) each way and follows the route of the Cleveland Way and the England Coastal Path.

From the apartment head towards the sea. You can make your way down to the sea front through the South Cliff gardens under the cliff or by the lift, turn right and simply follow the sign ‘Cleveland Way’. The path runs under the pretty South Cliff Gardens for a short while before rising back up to the cliff top, so an alternative route is to turn right along Esplanade at the end of Prince of Wales Terrace and join the path as it rises from the seafront. Then simply follow the Cleveland Way path until you reach the beautiful beach of Cayton Bay.

If you would like to extend the walk you could try the Scarborough to Filey Walk which simply follows the coastal path beyond Cayton Bay to Filey, another classic coastal resort.

Circular walk from Scalby Mills to Cloughton Wyke

A coast and heritage walk

3-4 hours

Terrain: A couple of short climbs.

Parking: On or off street in Scalby Mills.

Maps: 0SOL27 North York Moors Eastern.

Set off from Scalby Mills two miles from Scarborough and take the Cleveland Way north towards Cloughton Wyke and onto the old Scarborough-Whitby railway track, now known as the Cinder Track. The Cleveland Way stretches from north of Scarborough to Saltburn.

Cross the footbridge behind the Old Scalby Mills Hotel and climb the steep flight of steps signed to Ravenscar. Follow the Cleveland Way for the first half of the walk with sweeping views of the North Bay towards the steep cliffs ahead. Eventually the path arrives at Crook Ness where there is a small car park and access to the sea. Go past the white Long Nab coastguard station which kept a watch out for enemy ships and was part of the nuclear warning system during the Cold War.

Follow the track around the headland into the bay of Cloughton Wyke. Here, three paths head inland in quick succession. Ignore the first and take the second marked by a finger post. Where the track meets a narrow lane, turn left along this to reach a railway bridge and a flight of steps takes you down to join the old Scarborough-Whitby rail track. At the foot of the steps turn right back towards Scarborough past the former railway station (now a café) and along the line to the next road crossing at Burniston. Here, cross over and turn left. When the path arrives at Scalby village walk down the road turning left at the first T-junction and left again into Station Road. Go straight on at a roundabout to reach the main road. Turn right down this to just before the youth hostel and take a farm road on the left with a signpost to the Cleveland Way. Follow this to the clifftop path and turn right down this back to Scalby Mills.