Things to do
There is literally so much to do in and around the area we can only fit a fraction of it on this page….. Alternatively, just relaxing in and around Staithes, in the lovely Cottage or traditional pubs is a great way to unwind……
Whitby—8 miles away
A popular ancient port and market town. Cliff-top abbey and visitor centre, fascinating shops, Dracula museum, tours, festivals and restaurants. Fascinating, bustling place to visit, but also good to return to Staithes. Click here for more info on Staithes. General tourism info on the area and Yorkshire.
Fishing
The area is excellent for sea, course and game fishing. For sea trips out of Staithes we recommend Sean, a local skipper who will track down the fish if they are there. Sean also runs tours and courses.
The Esk which runs through Whitby is Yorkshire’s only salmon river, also with trout, grayling and course fish in this and other rivers. There is good game and course fishing in lakes, rivers and reservoirs nearby.
Local sea angling information.
Yorkshire angling information.
Walking and other outdoor activities
The North Yorkshire Moors and Coast, a designated National Park, has almost unparalleled scenery and variety, with walking , cycling, kayaking, horseriding and other outdoor activities. Roseberry Topping is a nearby high but manageable hill which gives spectacular views, and Staithes itself is on the Cleveland Way. There is a fantastic variety of animal and plant life and the area is excellent for bird watching, with the occasional porpoise and whale just off the coast.
Food and drink
There is excellent eating to be had locally, both in and around Staithes, from home cooked pub food of a high standard to internationally award winning restaurants and locally brewed ales.
The Bistro serves great value home cooked food,
The cod and Lobster serves Great Fish and Chips, home cooked traditional meals, local crab sandwiches and various daily specials.
The George, great value quality bar meals and sandwiches.
If you fancy a trip out, try the Badger Hounds on the main road through Hinderwell, walkable, does good quality hearty Sunday lunch. Or further afield in the quaint village of Lealholm, try the Board Inn, lovely pub, open fires, great food, ales and wines.
If you fancy a night in by the log burner the cottage has menus for the Chinese Takeaway in Loftus, (recommended), and the Pizza house ~(Recommended highly by a previous guest). Both deliver.
The local butcher serves fabulous local meat-ask for his home dry-cured bacon (you will never buy from a supermarket again), his speciality home made sausages, fabulous local pork pies and if feeling brave, a bit of tripe!
The local honey is superb.
For speciality breads, see the lady in the postoffice-order your flavour/type, and it will be delivered the next day-freshly baked.
Surfing and beaches
Staithes has a small, sandy beach, with rock pools and fossiling at low tide, BUT BE AWARE OF THE TIDES! The cliffs can shed stone and tides are dangerous; both must be treated with respect. People do surf at Staithes, but it is only for the very experienced or foolhardy, as it is onto a mainly rock bottom.
Runswick Bay has a long beach in a wonderfull curved bay, and Sandsend, a few miles South toward Whitby, has a fantastic, sandy beach, renowned for its surfing. A lovely easy walk is Sandsend to Whitby on the beach.
Runswick is 3 miles along the Cleveland way clifftops from Staithes-and has a couple of great places to eat before the walk home, as does Hindburn.
Robin Hoods Bay further South is known for fossils. For a great 4 hour dramitc scenery clifftop walk, Robin Hoods to Whitby is unbeatable. To the North, Saltburn has a good fossil beach, with its Victorian pier and funicular railway, and Redcar a long sandy, but exposed beach.
A bit further South, Cayton Bay and other bays near Scarborough are also internationally renowned for surfing, where you can take courses at the Cayton Surf Shop. Find more surfer links here.
Museums, galleries and culture
The area has many excellent museums, from the Staithes Museum on the High Street, to the Captain Cook Museum in Whitby (part of the Captain Cook Trail) and the Whitby Museum, the award winning contemporary architecture of the Middlesborough Institute of Modern Art, to the Jorvik Viking Museum in historic York, only 40 minutes away.
Goathland, the setting for Heartbeat and Hogsmeade from Harry Potter is just minutes away. Enjoy a trip on the steam train that featured in these films as the Hogwarts Express.
York is a wonderful day out, with its medieval, Minster, history and shops, and close to the York designer outlet