🥾 RUNSWICK BAY WALK: FISHING VILLAGES, IRONSTONE HISTORY AND CLIFFTOPS ON THE NORTH YORKSHIRE COAST
🌊 This circular walk from Runswick Bay takes in two of North Yorkshire's finest coastal villages, dramatic clifftop paths, a peaceful woodland nature reserve and centuries of local history. Starting and finishing at Runswick Bank Top, the route follows the Cleveland Way north to Staithes before looping inland through Dalehouse, Oakrigg Wood and Hinderwell on the return. Along the way you will pass through places shaped by fishing, ironstone mining and maritime folklore, with plenty of time to explore the harbours, lanes and landmarks that make this stretch of coast so rewarding on foot.
🗺️ The walk begins at the pay and display car park on Bank Top Lane, from where you descend into the lower village of Runswick Bay to explore its cottages, narrow streets and sandy beach before joining the Cleveland Way. The coastal path climbs onto the clifftops above Wrack Hills and Lingrow Cliffs, passing Port Mulgrave and Old Nab before dropping down into Staithes at roughly the halfway point. From Staithes, the route heads inland along the main road before turning off into Dalehouse, where a quiet path follows a former ironstone tramway into Oakrigg Wood Nature Reserve. The final section passes through Hinderwell, taking in St Hilda's Church and its ancient Holy Well, before a straight, level mile along a roadside footpath brings you back to Runswick Bank Top.
📏 The Runswick Bay walk covers a distance of eight and a quarter miles, or thirteen kilometres, and takes around four hours to complete. It is a circular route with a total ascent of 1,080 feet (329 metres), so you should expect a good number of short climbs along the way, particularly on the clifftop sections. The walk falls within the Yorkshire Coast area and is covered by OS Explorer map OL27. Pay and display parking is available at two car parks on Bank Top Lane at Runswick Bank Top.
🏘️ Runswick Bay is one of the most striking locations on the North Yorkshire coast, sitting roughly nine miles north-west of Whitby within the North York Moors National Park. The crescent-shaped bay was named Beach of the Year by The Sunday Times in 2020. The village is divided into two parts: the modern hamlet of Bank Top on the cliff edge and the historic lower village, where red-roofed cottages huddle against steep shale cliffs. The structure of the lower village is a direct result of the Great Landslide of 1682, when the original settlement was almost entirely destroyed as the cliff face collapsed. Every inhabitant escaped to higher ground before their homes were swallowed by the sea, and the villagers rebuilt on the more sheltered southern part of the bay. The area holds international importance for its Jurassic geology, with cliffs revealing rocks nearly 200 million years old, and is well known for fossil hunting. Local folklore tells of a benevolent spirit known as the Hob, said to live in the caves at the edge of the shore, to whom mothers once carried children suffering from whooping cough in the hope of a cure.
📸 Highlights along the way are plentiful. In Runswick Bay itself, sandstone cottages with red pantile roofs climb the hillside above a broad, sheltered beach, and the maze of narrow paths and ginnels rewards a slow wander. The clifftop stretch above Lingrow Cliffs reveals layered Jurassic rock in tones of ochre, grey and rust, with Port Mulgrave's quiet bay hinting at the ironstone industry that once transformed this coast. Old Nab is a bold headland with striking views along the shoreline, and the descent into Staithes reveals a village packed tightly around its harbour, the Cod and Lobster pub sitting at the water's edge beneath Cowbar Nab. In Oakrigg Wood, carved wooden sculptures line the path through native oaks, and the former tramway tells the story of the Grinkle Ironstone Mine, from where three million tons of ironstone were carried to Port Mulgrave for shipping. At Hinderwell, St Hilda's Church and its ancient Holy Well offer a peaceful stop rich in history, from the life of the great Anglo-Saxon saint to the folk custom of Shaking Bottle Sunday once held at the well each Ascension Day.
✨ Whether you are drawn by the fishing heritage of Staithes, the quiet beauty of Oakrigg Wood or the layered history of Hinderwell and its Holy Well, this is a walk that offers something at every turn. Visit the full route page for detailed walking directions, maps, photos and background information to help you plan your day.
This Runswick Bay walk follows the Cleveland Way to Staithes via Port Mulgrave and Old Nab, returning through Dalehouse and Hinderwell.
