When we retired, two years ago, we thought we might use our time to explore parts of the UK neither of us had visited before. Two years on we haven’t done that, we’ve travelled in Europe instead. So this September we took the opportunity to spend a week in North Yorkshire, UK.  

Neither of us knew anything about the area so we based ourselves in Scarborough, with an Air BnB in the suburb of Scalby, and decided to explore from there. We were fortunate in that the Air BnB was a lovely property and located not far from The Cinder Track; a disused railway line which is now a cycle/walking path running between Whitby and Scarborough

We planned our week around several walking routes, using an OS Pathfinder Guide, I’d bought for the trip, and visiting some of the scenic coastal towns in the area.

We arrived in Yorkshire, at lunchtime on Saturday, having made the 230 mile trip to Scarborough, from Bristol. We both wanted to get out and about after five hours sat in the car.

We were able to walk, from the Air BnB, into Scarborough town centre following the Cinder Track. It was about four miles into town but a nice flat, traffic free route. The town centre itself is pretty much like any other UK seaside town, but the seafront is nice and has a picturesque harbour.

 We didn’t explore south of the town but headed off towards the North Bay for our first glimpse of the North Sea. We followed the bay around towards the edge of the town and from that point used Google Maps to guide us back to the Cinder Track, which we joined about half way along our original route into town. We ended up walking about nine miles in a circular route. Unexpected but just what we like to do. 

The weather forecast for the week ahead of us was good with the exception of Sunday. The forecasters were accurate with that and we woke up to a misty, murky morning with sea mist that didn’t clear all day. That being the case, we decided to stay local and I planned a coastal path walk from the end of North Bay, Scarborough.  

I intended to walk out along the coast path, heading north, before cutting inland to pick up the Cinder Track to take us home. I found a similar route for that on the Outdooractive app, so we were covered if we got lost or diverted.

The walk went without a hitch but unfortunately, we didn’t see a great deal because of the mist. It cleared slightly as we walked inland and despite the fog, it was a nice, undulating ten-mile hike, finished off with a coffee in a local pub just before getting back to our rental property. A great start to what was to be a fantastic week in Yorkshire.

All images: ©Stephen Hyde 2007-2025 – All rights reserved.