Coming up, we visit the wonderful fishing village
of Robin Hood's Bay, clinging to the cliff edge of the North Yorkshire Coast. Tiny, adorable streets
and alleyways, stories of smuggling, sea captains and wonderful coastal views await us as we ascend
the cliff edge. Keep watching to find out more. Robin Hood's Bay is situated just six miles
southeast of Whitby and is a charming and quirky fishing village to visit. It's on the cinder trail
that we showed you in our last video of Whitby, so you could walk here in under two hours. We parked
at the top of the village. It's very popular and coming late afternoon we were fortunate to
get a space. Parking was £3.30 for two hours. Be prepared for some steep
up and downhill walking, the village is tucked away on the side of the
coastal cliffs. Slow and steady wins the race. We know it as Robin Hood's Bay but the locals
call it just Bay or Baytown. Legend has it that the famous outlaw Robin Hood
thwarted an attack by French Pirates to pillage the fisherman's boats along the coast, returning
the loop to the poor people of the village. Heading down we find a number of independent
shops selling antiques and well-made craft items. The sign informs us that the cast iron
water fountain that once provided all the drinking water for the village was
replaced with a similar example in 2016. The Laurel Inn is a tiny drinking hole with
a small outside bench to have a pint on. This building Beckfield was the old police
station that opened at the time the railways arrived in 1885. Notice the mouse on
the post, the signature of Yorkshire Furniture maker Robert Mousey Thompson.
I have no idea why it's on the gate post? The Village dates back to the 1500s and many
of the houses were built between 1650 and 1750 when the majority of the villagers were
involved in the fishing industry, however, Viking settlers were fishing these
waters a thousand years before that. It might surprise you, as it did me that,
at one time the fishing port here was bigger than at Whitby. Cod, herring, lobster and
crab were all being caught in the area. Before we arrive at the sea wall, let's take a
detour up this tiny alleyway and think about the smugglers of the 18th century that favoured
this village to land their contraband having crossed over from the continent. High taxes made
smuggling a profitable occupation, rum, tobacco, teas and silks were all on board. Arriving in the
dead of night landing on the beach where gangs would swiftly whisk away the treasures through
the alleyways, secret underground passageways and tunnels, heading inland for sale. The
coroner's room is now the local museum and the place to come for more stories and history
like this. It's run by volunteers so not always open as it wasn't today. A sign on the main
road directs you here from another alleyway. At the sea wall is a small dock for launching boats and for walking
down onto the beach, not today mind you, the tide is high and the seas are quite rough! The Bay Hotel on the sea wall is a nice pub, hotel
and restaurant offering fabulous Seaview rooms. Interestingly the coast-to-coast walk from
St Bees in Cumbria ends here in the bay. 192 miles of walking paths across the country. Opposite is the old Coast Guard Museum, full of
nautical tales and the history of the sea and coast around the bay. Some steps to the left
point us to the beach and the quarterdeck. A coal brig named The Visiter ran aground in
Robin Hood's Bay during a storm in 1881. Snow was eight feet deep and none of the boats
in the bay were good enough to help with the rescue. The Whitby lifeboat was deployed,
however, the storm stopped it from getting down the coast. Horses and the men pulled the boat
along the cliffs with volunteers digging out the snow on the way. They miraculously managed
to cover the six miles in just over three hours, launching the boat for the second time in
the bay and rescuing the crew of The Visiter. When the tide is out you can walk along the
shoreline to Boggle Hole. Legend has it that mischievous hobgoblins
or boggles lived here in the caves. Let's continue our walk up King Street
to the seawall mosaics and for more views of the coastline which is taking a
bit of a battering this afternoon. The mosaics run along the wall charting the history from Jurassic times to the present day with a variety of subjects. We are now cutting across many of
the alleyways and lanes enjoying the cottages and scenery as we make our
way back to the top of the village. It really is great fun to explore all the
little nooks and crannies of the lanes. One moment you're walking uphill
and the next you're dipping down, get lost for half an hour and enjoy
the delights of Robin Hood's Bay. Phew, there we go, that was quite an effort
to get back up the hill but we're back at the top. What a beautiful little fishing
village that was. Robin Hood's Bay, really enjoyed visiting here today. Hope you
enjoyed being with us as we walked around. Do join us again on the next
video, subscribe to our channel, give us a like and all those things! Thanks for
watching and we'll see you again soon bye-bye.
