The Cleveland Way 2024: Day Ten, the final day.
The Cleveland Way Nordic Walk, Thursday 19th September 2024
Planned route: Scarborough to Filey Brigg.
Official mileage: 10.47 miles
Strava mileage: 11.47 miles
Elevation gain: 950ft
Moving time: 3:41:08
Steps: 25,294
Todays route part one.
The second part of todays route to the finish!
I'm back at the Sea-Life Centre near Scalby Mills on the edge of North Bay in Scarborough, I'm a little late starting today as we've had to pack up camp before setting off, I'm so exhausted from yesterday that I'm not in hurry to start anyway! However the first three miles are relatively flat as I'm about to walk around Scarborough's North and South Bays. The guide book tells me there is no official route through Scarborough which I find weird, no waymarkers or signposts, it even suggests you could get a bus! I opt for a Nordic walk along Royal Albert Drive and then Marine Drive. There's quite a few folk already taking advantage of the easy walking as well as pushchairs and mobility scooters. It's entirely possible the distance I cover will be greater weaving around human obstacles this morning! There's a distinctive row of rainbow coloured beach huts along here which cheers up an otherwise dreary scene, some of them are two storey ones you can stay overnight in.
The tide is out this morning revealing a large expanse of beach and I can see the castle in the distance overlooking the bay. I love the Yorkshire sense of humour, this 'Gerrit in't bin' sign is on all the bins down here.
Made from weathering steel, this sculpture depicts Freddie Gilroy, a former soldier who participated in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, sitting on a bench in his old age. Gilroy was a friend of the sculptor and Lonsdale made the piece partly as a tribute to him, but also as a wider war and Holocaust memorial. Originally intended to sit on the seafront as a 4-week loan in 2011, a local resident donated money to purchase the sculpture for the town.
Gilroy and the bench are sculpted at twice lifescale, making the figure almost 3.5 metres (11 ft) in length.The sculpture, fabricated of weathering Corten steel, took artist Lonsdale three months to make. Gilroy, a South Hetton brickmaker and colliery worker, served with the Royal Artillery during the Second World War and became one of the first Allied troops to help liberate Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945. One of his duties was to guard the camp physician Fritz Klein.
Surf's up! Surf lesson tale place here in North Bay and the bottom edge of the sea wall here is decorated with waves, the castle looms closer, Steve is visiting the castle while I'm walking this morning. I continue to make my way around the bottom of the castle cliff on my way to the harbour.
Bronze age settlers are said to have been the first to fortify the headland here. The Romans operated a signal station on a line of sight linked with other coastal signal stations at Ravenscar and Filey Brigg. In the 12th century Scarborough Castle was built on the headland. The remaining ruins can be visited, they're looked after by English Heritage.
Looking back across North Bay before it disappears from view, the harbour at Scarborough. There's been a harbour in Scarborough since 1225 and it still has commercial fisheries and the fishing fleet is of mixed vessels, it certainly smelt fishy as I walked through! The anchor outside the fish and chip restaurant of the same name was raised from the seabed in 1987, it represents Scarborough's maritime history. The building behind is called Herring Girls House, a rentable holiday home.
Stained glass windows above the doors of Herring Girls House, Scarborough.
These are some old buildings around the harbourside and on Foreshore Road as I walked through. The Newcastle Packet is Grade II listed and is one of the oldest pubs in Scarborough. I think the other building is a fishery, I just love old buildings. The top pic is South Bay beach.
After following the busy promenade and coming through round the harbour South Bay beach opens up and is much sandier than North Bay it's overlooked by the imposing Grand Hotel.
"The Grand Hotel Scarborough was first devised in the early 1860s, when a group of Yorkshire businessmen saw potential in building a lavish hotel in the up and coming seaside town of Scarborough. In 1863, building began, after funding issues it finally opened on July 24, 1867 as ‘the largest and handsomest hotel in Europe’.
Along with its vast size, The Grand Hotel, Scarborough was built in unusual V-shaped style in honour of Queen Victoria (the head of the monarchy at the time). What also made this building so interesting was the unique motif: four towers to represent the seasons, twelve floors for the months of the year, fifty-two chimneys for the weeks of the year and 365 bedrooms to represent the days in the year. Another intriguing selling point of the hotel was that it offered extra taps that let its customers bathe in salt water as well as fresh water. These quirks, coupled with the high standards of service and clientele, made The Grand Hotel a favourite among holidaymakers. The additional taps in the hotel’s spa were particularly popular, and many guests chose to stay at the Grand for this reason specifically. At this time, The Grand Hotel was also named as the largest hotel and the largest brick structure in Europe." From Britannia Hotels
Fin the fish encourages recycling on the beachfront!
In 1826 the Cliff Bridge Company set about building a new footbridge that would link the centre of town with the new south side attractions. A bridge was seen as a necessary addition due to the steep ravine which separated St Nicholas Cliff from the Spa making access for a large numbers of visitors problematic. Cliff Bridge is constructed of iron, it rests on four imposing pillars and is 414 feet long and 75 feet high.
The wide expanse of sandy beach at South Bay exposed by the receding tide.
Continuing round South Bay I come towards the Spa complex at the end of the road on South Bay and I make my best way through with no way markers to navigate the complex paths around and through the South Cliff Gardens up steps , down slopes and even having to make a u-turn at a dead end I'm thankful the tide is out as the guide book says the sea can break the sea wall here and you might need to divert. Why are there no waymarkers??? "Eventually I find my way following the sea wall and across the beach at the end (hard going).
It was in the early seventeenth century that natural mineral waters were discovered in Scarborough. A Mrs Farrow or Farrer is said to have been the person who discovered that the waters could have medicinal properties. Within decades, Scarborough was well established as somewhere nice to 'take the waters'. By the early 1700s a spa house had been built to sell the waters to eager visitors to the town, who were determined to improve their health. As a spa town, Scarborough enjoyed considerable growth in the 18th century, leading to the town's claim of being England's first true seaside resort. Apart from taking the waters visitors could enjoy boating, horse racing on the beach and bathing in the sea." The BBC
"The company who built the footbridge also turned their attentions to the Spa buildings as well. A 'gothic' saloon, designed by Henry Wyatt, was opened in 1839. It included a concert hall that could seat 500 people, gardens and a promenade. There was also an outside area where orchestras could entertain the visitors. By the time the new buildings were opened though, they were considered too small for the hordes of visitors that Victorian Scarborough was attracting. Sir Joseph Paxton was called in to redesign the buildings. Sir Joseph had worked on the grounds of Chatsworth in Derbyshire and the famous Crystal Palace. His building, which opened in 1858, consisted of a central assembly hall with adjoining galleries, that could seat 2000 people. Outside, the sea wall was extended to include a double promenade with a carriage road, a colonnade with shops and an open air bandstand. The waters had changed over the centuries and by the 1960s public consumption of the waters ceased altogether. Unfortunately, the remains of the wells are no longer open to the public due to health and safety regulations. Despite alterations over the years, the Spa complex today, which consists of the Spa Theatre, the Grand Hall for concerts, the Ocean Room, Promenade Lounge, Sun Court, bar areas, cafes and other rooms, still owes a great deal to the architecture of the 1880s." From The BBC
Pretty flowers alongside the path before going through the tunnel under the funicular. Scarborough was the first town to have a funicular railway and at one time it had five, the two in North Bay have been demolished and only two in South Bay are currently in use.
Climbing up from the beach and finally there's a signpost for the Cleveland Way! It's quite a climb up to the top and the path turns off left before reaching a car park. There's a lot of college students lurking around with lanyards on around here, must be lunchtime! The path comes out on the edge of South Cliff Golf Course and runs between the course and the sea.
The path goes down some stone steps before turning right up a track, I follow a grassy path on the edge of woodland until reaching houses where the path goes along the back of the houses on a very narrow path which comes out onto a road. Spotted some Sea Buckthorn bushes along the edge of the woodland.
Farmers here are still hard at work harvesting and gathering. The road leads to Osgodby and a footpath down into woodland on Tennant's Cliff with over 100 steps down and virtually no markers in the woods, a German couple coming the other way are looking perplexed at a junction and we help each other onto the right track!
Steps, steps and more steps.
Cayton Bay looks lovely, wish the sun was shining though. There are second world war pillboxes on the beach here that used to be on the clifftop! Then I'm climbing up steep uneven steps AGAIN...turning left at the top to go down a grassy slope.
Crossing a beach access road a small climb and I can see Clara in the car park on the cliff top near a surf shop (not open) I'm so glad to be stopping, it feels like it's been a very long morning. My feet are aching, but from here there is just 5 miles left to walk. I stop for lunch with Steve, it's chilly on the clifftop, but stopping, taking off my socks and shoes having a cuppa and some food energises me for the last push.
After lunch looking back over Cayton Bay, shame about the weather. I plug into an audio book as I could do with the distraction, I'm listening to the latest Robert Galbraith book, The Running Grave (it's a bit harrowing if I'm honest)
The path climbs steadily to Lebberston Cliff and there are good views back towards Scarborough. I pass a thick wooden post that has these two lions head on it, no idea why!
Once again moving uphill along Gristhorpe Cliff the path passes right in front of some static caravans on a holiday park, the path has been diverted here as a stretch of cliff path collapsed in 2023 on Cunstone Nab. There's quite a few dog walkers around.
The grassy path continues around Newbiggin Cliff and reaches North Cliff.
At North Cliff there is another rocket post, this time a restored one, but without the crows nest of others I have seen along the route.
I pass the last Cleveland Way signpost which is pointing back to Helmsley 109 miles, I've done it, I've walked the whole of the Cleveland Way, grinning like a cheshire cat, with my uncontrollable hair going everywhere(thanks wind) I then take the last few steps down a grassy path to reach the official stone marker. Steve is sitting on the stone waiting for me.
Norbert (and my Nordic walking poles) has ably accompanied me these past 10 days so he gets his moment in the spotlight too, there's a thru-walker who finished just before me and I joke to him we could carry onto the Yorkshire Wolds Way now! The official marker stone has all the names of the stage towns carved into it and a lovely acorn at the top.
At the start of the Cleveland Way in Helmsley and 109 miles (120.7 miles according to Strava) later at the finish in Filey Brigg. Tired, but happy and feeling accomplished. Steve bought us celebratory Tesco's finest chocolate eclairs!
The route of The Cleveland Way - I Nordic walked it all!
