🏰 History & heritage
Whitby Abbey
Gothic ruin high on the East Cliff, with 1,300 years of history, a museum in Cholmley House and the view that helped inspire Dracula.
Moderate · Linear
Photo: Humphrey Bolton, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
🏰 History & heritage
🏰 History & heritage
🌿 Moors & nature
Moderate
Moderate
Moderate
Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay on the Cleveland Way
The classic clifftop day: abbey to bay past Saltwick, the lighthouse and the fog signal, with a bus back.
Distance11 km / 6.8 miles
Time3h 30m
GradeModerate
RouteLinear
Follow the Cleveland Way south from the abbey past Saltwick Bay, Whitby lighthouse and the foghorn station, then along the cliffs above Maw Wyke Hole to drop into Robin Hood's Bay. The path is well made but has many steps. Return on the X93 bus from the top of the village, or on the Cinder Track for a longer loop.
- Exposed cliff path; keep to the seaward side of fences
- Cafe at the Saltwick holiday park and pubs in the Bay
- Buses run roughly hourly
Things to see nearby
🏰 History & heritage
🏰 History & heritage
The 199 Steps and St Mary's Church
Whitby's famous stairway from the old town to the church and abbey on the East Cliff.
🌿 Moors & nature
Falling Foss and the Hermitage
Woodland waterfall with a tea garden beside it and a cave hermitage carved from a boulder.
More walks
Moderate
Roseberry Topping circular
Short, steep and hugely rewarding: the classic climb to the moors' most recognisable summit.
Moderate
Byland Abbey and Mount Snever
Abbey ruins, a climb through woods to an observatory folly and a return past the Kilburn White Horse road.
Moderate
Hawnby Hill and Easterside
Two whaleback hills in the quiet western dales with views to the Cleveland Hills and Bilsdale.