12 Best Beaches in Yorkshire

Whitby is an interesting seaside town with quayside arcades, beautiful scenery, and some of the finest fish and chips in the country. It may be quite a small place, clinging to the coast on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors, but the village is full of character.

You can visit throughout the year, but the North Sea can be mighty chilly in anything but peak summer. The village of Sandsend, right at the end of Whitby Beach, is one of the more popular places to sit in the sun. You’ll find the usual traditional British beach experiences in and around Whitby during the summer months, like donkey rides, ice cream vans, and colorful beach huts. It’s also a good beach for surfing, kite flying and fossil hunting. 

The South Bay Beach is iconic in Scarborough, thanks to its soft sand, amusement arcades, donkey rides and the imposing Grand Hotel looking down from the cliff tops. You can still ride the historical cliff lifts down to the beach from the hotel, like a Victorian-era holidaymaker.

On a sunny summer day, South Beach can be as busy and fun as any Mediterranean beach, though the North Sea is a lot less inviting. It’s generally okay to dip your toes in, but very few people go beyond knee depth. On the other side of the headland, North Bay Beach has a Blue Flag award for cleanliness. It's usually busy on nice days, but has fewer nearby attractions than South Bay Beach.

Sandsend Beach is found a few miles to the north of Whitby, in front of the charming seaside village of the same name. It’s a soft and sandy seafront with plenty of parking spaces along Sandsend Road, right behind the southern bit of the beach. There’s a further carpark right at the northern end of the beach, where the sand gives way to cliffs topped with the Cleveland Way footpath.

In the village itself, you’ll find several beachfront cafés around the estuary of the East Row Beck – a pleasant little stream that passes through Sandsend. There are also plenty of guesthouses to choose from, but no big hotels, meaning that the place is rarely too crowded.

Saltburn-by-the-Sea Beach is just a short distance south of Middlesbrough, putting it right at the northern end of the Yorkshire coast. Winner of the Blue Flag award for its cleanliness, it’s a very wide beach consisting of nice yellow sand. When the tide is out, it extends beyond the length of the 681-ft-long Saltburn Pier.

While there’s a nice promenade with a few great fish and chip shops and a surfing school just behind the beach, Saltburn town itself on top of a cliff overlooking the beach. There’s a historic tramway to make getting up and down between the 2 a lot easier. You should also check out the Saltburn Miniature Railroad that runs alongside the Skelton Beck, taking in some of the beautiful gardens along the way.

Filey Beach is one of the most famous shorelines in Yorkshire, partially because it used to be home to one of the first Butlin’s vacation camps. Even with the camp closed, the soft yellow sand remains a major draw for this charming little Yorkshire town. Fortunately, there’s quite a lot of parking along the beachfront road, which is unimaginatively named ‘The Beach’.

At the northern end of the beach, a little beyond the Filey Sailing Club, is the famous Filey Brigg. The long and narrow peninsula is very picturesque and a great source of interest for those interested in archeology. Large amounts of Roman pottery and prehistoric fossils have been found there. The folklore surrounding the Brigg’s origin is also fascinating.

Bridlington North Beach is a strip of sand along the lively promenade in the lovely little coastal town, to the north of the busy harbor. South Beach is just as beautiful and even a little wider, with arguably nicer sand. But it’s the funfair along Royal Prince’s Parade and the many arcades, attractions and cafés along North Beach that make it the better of the 2.

A popular angling destination and home to a small fishing fleet, it’s no surprise that the fish and chip shops in Bridlington are some of the finest in Yorkshire. Some of those along North Beach have bagged national awards. It’s worth noting that there’s not much automobile parking space near the beach, so brace yourself for a walk through town to get to the sand.

Robin Hood’s Bay, located to the south of Whitby, is an extremely popular coastal destination in the North York Moors. Its claim to fame has nothing to do with Robin Hood but comes from the village’s past as an 18th-century smuggler’s den. They certainly picked a great spot for their headquarters as what was once a remote and difficult-to-access location now makes for an extremely picturesque setting. You can hear more about this fascinating history on a ghost walk or at the village’s museum.

Other than its beautiful coastal scenery, Robin Hood’s Bay has a little cluster of red-roofed cottages and the old coastguard station as well as plenty of places to enjoy some fish and chips.

Spurn is a unique and iconic National Nature Reserve, recognizable by its long, thin sandbank that curves out into Humber estuary. It’s known for being a resting place for thousands of migratory birds, but other wildlife you can expect to see can include numerous insect species, lizards and roe deer.

The sandbank is 3.5 miles long and only about 50 yards wide in places, so you can only access it on foot, on a bike or on an organized Spurn Safari. Stop by the Spurn Discovery Center before heading onto the reserve and learn all about its history, wildlife and defense system.

The Blue Flag-winning Hornsea Beach leapt to popularity in the Victorian era and still remains one of the more popular beach resorts on the Yorkshire coast. The beach itself is very long, though it does have a bit of shingle in its make-up. However, it’s backed by a good selection of facilities, including plenty of cafés, seafront cabins and trailers.

The Freeport is easily the most popular attraction of Hornsea. While it’s about 1 mile inland from the beach, its extensive array of shops and kid-friendly attractions make it a fantastic family destination. For a more natural experience, consider a boating trip on Hornsea Mere.

Mappleton Beach is only about 3 miles south of Hornsea, so it has roughly the same quality of sand and sea as its more famous neighbor. However, being by a tiny farming village instead of a popular town, it’s a much quieter beach – great for those seeking some peaceful seclusion.

You won’t find the same level of attractions and services at Mappleton that you’ll find in Hornsea. However, there’s free parking by the beach and some charming cafés in the village. It’s worth noting that the cliffs to the south of Mappleton, while strikingly beautiful, are eroding faster than any others in Europe, so it’s wise to give them a wide berth.

Flamborough North Landing is a tiny sandy cove on the northern side of the picturesque Flamborough Head. The sheer chalk cliffs of the rocky headland north of Bridlington are home to a great many seabirds, historic lighthouses and stunning scenery. North Landing offers a peaceful little respite amid all of that ruggedness.

While the shore is stony by the calm sea, it gets sandier the further inland you get. Behind the beach itself, you’ll find a couple of nice cafés and a historic hotel, as well as plenty of parking space. There are a few other coves you can visit along this coastline, including Thornwick Bay to the north and Selwicks Bay to the south.

Runswick Bay is an isolated little cove about 9 miles north along the coast from Whitby. A delight for surfers, sailors, paddleboarders and anglers, there are opportunities to see boat races or seals at almost any time of year. Onshore, you can also enjoy rock pooling and fossil hunting under the steep cliffs or walk part of the Cleveland Way.

The village of Runswick Bay is a quaint and quiet place. There’s a good amount of parking, a few whitewashed hotels and honey-hued stone guesthouses and not much else. It’s worth noting that, while there are parking spaces by the beach, the village itself is car-free, mostly because the winding streets are too narrow to accommodate vehicles.