The car-free seaside town which is ‘one of best spots for fish and chips in the UK’
WILD, windswept beaches, crabbing on the shore and al fresco fish and chips.
Our North Yorkshire staycation was a series of seaside firsts for my young son Alex, and Robin Hood’s Bay was the picture-perfect place to make these memories.
This fishing village, six miles south of Whitby, is ruggedly beautiful.
The main part is a traffic-free zone, and visitors can use the car park — free in winter — at the top of the steep hill that leads into the centre.
As we descended, the higgledy-piggledy fishermen’s cottages, on small cobbled streets, made it feel as though we were stepping back in time.
And this place is certainly steeped in history.
During the 18th Century, it was home to the busiest smuggling community on the Yorkshire coast.
Ships would stop in the dead of night and pass tobacco, tea and rum through secret tunnels underneath the cottages.
You can still see some of these passageways today, although the rest of the village has been modernised — including Sunnyside Cottage, where we were staying with my friend and her dog, just 15 steps (yes, I counted) from the centre.
The cottage sleeps four, over three floors, and the bedrooms have stunning sea views.
Robin Hood’s Bay was recently named by Trip Advisor as one of the best spots in the UK for this seaside fare.
Our local chippie, Fish Cottage, had a queue outside before they even opened their serving hatch for lunch.
The fluffy chips here are cooked in beef dripping and the batter is light and crispy, so Alex wolfed the lot down.
If you’d prefer a sit-down meal, the central Brambles Bistro is dog-friendly, with a cosy interior.
Of course, you have to visit the beach while you’re here too. This one is a mix of sand and pebbles and was just a two-minute stroll from our cottage.
The tide was out that afternoon so we bought a fishing net (£4) from one of the local stores to catch crabs in the rock pools, which kept Alex happy for hours.
Later when he was in bed, my friend and I sat outside the cottage drinking prosecco and listening to the distant sound of folk singers performing in a village pub.
The cobblestone setting and jolly music sent us back to another era — so much so I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a smuggler sneak past with a few bottles of rum in hand.
GO: Robin Hood's Bay
STAYING THERE: A two-night break at Sunnyside Cottage costs from £280 for four people.
For more info, see baytownholidaycottages.co.uk.