Here in the UK, there is no shortage of lovely seaside towns to visit, each with their own unique appeal. One particular corner of the country with loads to offer is the North Yorkshire coast, with Scarborough and Whitby being massively popular choices.
However, one journalist recently decided to venture off the beaten track and visit one that’s a little lesser known. Runswick Bay was recently dubbed as one of the UK’s most ‘ridiculously beautiful’ seaside villages that everyone should visit ‘at least once’. But according to Samantha Teasdale from Yorkshire Live, it was not entirely impressive.
After a 90-minute journey to get there, she was immediately confused by her surroundings. She found herself perched on top of a steep slope with nothing visible except houses beside a car park.
After parking, she wandered about to discover there was a route leading down towards the shore.
She said: “Seeing how steep it was, I didn’t like the idea of climbing back up in a few hours so I pulled up Google Maps and to my relief spotted a car park.
“Parking up again, but closer to the beach, I was feeling a little more relaxed as I knew I was in the right place. My first impression of Runswick Bay was that it was a picturesque coastal retreat with bright white buildings and red roofs dotted around the sloping hill. It definitely had a similar feel to most of the other North Yorkshire villages that I had visited.
“Excited to explore, I followed the other handfuls of tourists heading up to the main village where beautiful houses boasting lush green gardens with plants exploding with colour. Of course, with many rural towns and villages along the North Yorkshire coast, I soon came across a pub, The Royal Hotel.”
Samantha found herself navigating the wnding streets of Runswick, where holiday homes were advertised with leaflet boxes outside. However, she quickly became somewhat confused as she attempted to find her way to the beach.
She wrote: “I reached several dead ends and saw private property signs which made me turn back the way I came. It looked like the only way to the beach was from the car park.
“Passing The Royal Hotel again, I decided to pop in for some lunch and enjoyed a gammon steak with all the trimmings with a glass of Diet Pepsi to wash it down. It was a cosy pub, with attentive staff, great food and dog friendly. However, there were a lot of flies around and did stop me from finishing my meal.”
At this point, Samantha felt somewhat at a loss as to what to do next. Then, she remembered there was another route to the beach, and headed off.
After a leisurely walk along the longest beach and a look around, she found herself back at Tides café where she had stopped earlier. The crashing waves and the scent of sea salt in the air were invigorating.
It was filling up, with families, pensioners and other customers – but according to Samantha, they soon returned to their vehicles to head home.
Unfortunately, Samantha’s visit to Runswick fell slightly flat. She said: “As a first-time visitor, I would say that Runswick Bay was a nice area but was not the ‘day out’ I was hoping for. It was only really a place that you can visit for around about two hours before running out of things to do.
“If you are not staying at one of the holiday cottages or at a nearby campsite, then there is nothing much going on I’m afraid. It does not have a lively atmosphere, and is probably more of a secluded, hidden gem, than I first realised.
“The golden sands and tranquil Yorkshire coast holiday vibes are pleasant at Runswick which cannot be said for most busy places – even in winter months, however, even if I was visiting at the height of summer, I cannot see myself returning. I would find that there was not much to do in the secluded beach area, but perhaps if I had young children, I would think differently.”