Flamborough

Hotels in Flamborough itself are limited, in keeping with the village's small size and its character as a working fishing and farming community rather than a resort. What you will find is a good spread of B&Bs, guesthouses and small inns offering comfortable, no-fuss stays within easy walking distance of the High Street, the parish church and the lanes leading out to North and South Landing. Several sit in traditional stone cottages or converted farm buildings, giving a genuinely local feel rather than a chain-hotel experience, and many hosts are well placed to point guests towards the best cliff walks and the times of year the seabird colonies are at their busiest.

For a wider choice of hotels, including larger seafront properties, most visitors base themselves a short drive away in Bridlington, which has a proper range of hotels and guesthouses along its seafront and harbour, or in Scarborough a little further north, both easily reached via the A165 coast road. Staying in Flamborough itself suits those who want to be right by the cliffs and the lighthouse first thing in the morning or at dusk, when the light on the chalk headland and the seabird colonies is at its best, while a Bridlington base offers more evening dining and entertainment options alongside easy access back out to the headland. Whichever you choose, book ahead for spring and early summer, when birdwatchers and walkers flock to the coast to see the nesting colonies at their peak.

Flamborough is compact, so most of its attractions can be strung together into a single day of walking, with plenty to bring you back for a second visit.

• Flamborough Head chalk cliffs — The headland's sheer white cliffs, riddled with caves, arches and stacks carved by the North Sea, are the reason people come to Flamborough. A clifftop path links the highlights, with sea views back along the coast towards Bridlington and Filey Brigg.
• Flamborough Head Lighthouse — The current lighthouse, designed by Samuel Wyatt and built in 1806, still guides shipping around the headland and is one of the oldest working lighthouses in England. It stands close to the site of an earlier chalk tower, the Old Beacon, built in 1674.
• North Landing — A steep track and steps drop down to a gravel beach tucked between chalk cliffs, where small fishing cobles still launch to tend crab and lobster pots. There is a cafe here at the top and, at low tide, sea caves to explore along the shore.
• South Landing — The gentler of the two coves, with a sandy beach, a woodland walk, an information centre and car park. It is the usual starting point for walks out towards the lighthouse and is home to the Living Seas Centre run by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust.
• RSPB Bempton Cliffs — A few miles up the coast, Bempton is one of England's best seabird reserves, with hundreds of thousands of birds nesting on the chalk cliffs between spring and midsummer, including England's only mainland gannet colony and, in early summer, puffins.
• Robin Lythe's Hole and the sea caves — At low tide it is possible to pick a careful route across the rocks below the cliffs to explore sea caves carved into the chalk, the largest and best known of which is Robin Lythe's Hole.
• Flamborough village and St Oswald's Church — The village itself, with its stone cottages and the medieval St Oswald's Church, retains a real sense of a working fishing and farming community rather than a resort.

The village has a handful of well-regarded pubs serving traditional food. The Seabirds Inn on the High Street is a village institution known for its home-cooked pub classics, while the Dog & Duck offers a cosy, traditional inn atmosphere with hearty menus. The Viking, on the road out towards North Landing, is popular for pub meals and Sunday lunches. For fresh, locally landed seafood, Lighthouse Fisheries in the village serves classic fish and chips, reflecting the crab and lobster fishing that still goes on from North Landing below the cliffs.

Flamborough Head's dramatic chalk clifftops and the surrounding farmland make for a memorable, if exposed, camping destination on the East Yorkshire coast. As with anywhere in England, wild camping is illegal without the landowner's permission, so pitching up on the open clifftops or in farmers' fields without asking first is not an option, however tempting the sea views. Instead, a handful of established campsites and caravan parks sit within easy reach of the village and the coastal path, including sites overlooking North Landing and others tucked a little further inland around Bridlington and Sewerby, giving campers a legal and far more comfortable way to wake up close to the cliffs.

The terrain around Flamborough Head is worth planning for: this is exposed, breezy clifftop chalk country with few natural windbreaks, so a sturdy tent, good pegs and warm bedding matter even in summer, and the coastal path itself has some steep, uneven sections down to North and South Landing that are worth scouting in daylight before dark. The reward for braving the wind is some of the best stargazing and sunrise views on the Yorkshire coast, along with the chance to hear, and smell, the seabird colonies at close quarters during the breeding season.

Late spring through to early autumn, roughly April to September, is the best window for camping here, coinciding with the busiest and most spectacular seabird activity at Flamborough Head and nearby RSPB Bempton Cliffs, as well as the calmest sea conditions for beach time at North and South Landing. Outside these months the headland can feel bleak and the wind off the North Sea bites hard, so it is one for well-prepared campers rather than a shoulder-season trip. For those who would rather skip the guy ropes altogether, glamping options in the area, including bell tents, pods and static caravans with sea views, offer the same clifftop setting with a proper bed and shelter from the wind, a popular middle ground for families and less experienced campers wanting to experience this stretch of coast in comfort.