# Robin Hood's Bay Staycation Guide — Where to Stay & What to Do > Robin Hood's Bay: a smugglers' village of red-roofed cottages, fossil-rich shores and the finish of Wainwright's Coast to Coast walk. Source: https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay (Staycation.co.uk). Cite the source page, not this text version. Smugglers' cottages, fossil shores, and the end of the Coast to Coast Photo © Katy Hughes, Google Maps [Guide](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay) [🏨 Hotels](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/hotels) [🏡 Cottages](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/cottages) [⛺ Camping](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/camping) [🎟️ Attractions](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/attractions) [🍽️ Restaurants](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/restaurants) Robin Hood's Bay is one of the most photographed villages on the Yorkshire coast, and it earns the attention honestly. The old part of the village clings to a steep cleft in the cliffs, its cottages stacked so tightly along a maze of yards, alleys and stepped passageways that the whole place feels carved rather than built. Cars are banned from the bottom of the bank, so you park at the top and walk down past bow-windowed houses with names like Bramblewick and Chapel Cliff Steps, the sea appearing and disappearing between the rooftops until you reach the tiny slipway at the bottom. The village sits within the North York Moors National Park, about six miles south of Whitby and roughly fifteen miles north of Scarborough, with the heather moorland rising inland and a long, ledge-like shore platform exposed at low tide. That shore platform is the reason geologists and fossil hunters make a special trip here: the alternating bands of shale and limestone are rich in Jurassic ammonites, belemnites and the occasional reptile fragment, and storms regularly turn up fresh finds along the wave-cut rocks either side of the bay. ## Getting to Robin Hood's Bay The village has no mainline station of its own — the nearest is Whitby, about six miles north, reachable by the Esk Valley line from Middlesbrough. From Whitby, regular buses run down to Robin Hood's Bay, or it's an easy drive or taxi ride. By car, the village sits just off the A171 between Whitby and Scarborough; sat-nav will bring you to one of the pay-and-display car parks at the top of the bank, since the old village itself is closed to through traffic. Scarborough, around fifteen miles south, has the nearest larger rail station with direct services to York and beyond. ## Best time to visit Robin Hood's Bay Spring and early autumn are the easiest times to enjoy the village, with quieter lanes, mild walking weather and good conditions for fossil hunting on the shore. Summer brings the busiest crowds and the trickiest parking, but also the best chance of a warm day on the beach and long evenings for the Cleveland Way. Winter has its own appeal for a shorter visit — storm-lashed seas, atmospheric empty streets, and the best chance of turning up a freshly exposed fossil after rough weather, though some seasonal businesses close over the colder months. ## Where to stay in Robin Hood's Bay(7) [All hotels in Robin Hood's Bay →](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/hotels) About staying in Robin Hood's Bay Robin Hood's Bay makes a memorable short break, whether you're finishing the Coast to Coast walk, hunting fossils on the shore, or just want a few days exploring the North York Moors coast. The old village itself has a limited but characterful stock of accommodation: fishermen's cottages converted for self-catering, many tucked into the steep yards and alleys that give the place its charm, plus a small number of hotels and guesthouses at the top of the bank where cars can actually park. Booking ahead matters here, especially in summer and around the popular Robin Hood's Bay Regatta and other village events, since rooms are limited and the village fills quickly with day trippers and walkers finishing their trek from St Bees. For more choice of hotels, restaurants and evening entertainment, Whitby is only six miles north and makes a practical base, with Robin Hood's Bay an easy bus, drive or coastal walk away. Scarborough, around fifteen miles south, offers a larger selection again for those wanting a bigger town with more facilities. Wherever you stay, a car (or good bus timing) is useful, since the village's own car parks sit at the top of the bank rather than down among the cottages, and public transport along this stretch of coast, while serviceable, is not especially frequent outside peak season. Whichever way you approach it, Robin Hood's Bay rewards visitors who stay long enough to explore beyond the view from the top: the tidal shore platform, the Old Coastguard Station, and the quieter stretches of the Cleveland Way in either direction are all best appreciated without a coach-party schedule. [Aldersyde Bed and Breakfast Aldersyde, Robin Hoods Bay](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/hotels/aldersyde-bed-and-breakfast) [Grosvenor Hotel Station Road, Robin Hoods Bay](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/hotels/grosvenor-hotel) [Lee-Side B&B Mount Pleasant South, Robin Hoods Bay](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/hotels/lee-side-b-b) [The Flask Inn Blacksmiths Hill, Robin Hoods Bay](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/hotels/the-flask-inn) [The Villa Bed and Breakfast Station Road, Robin Hoods Bay](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/hotels/the-villa-bed-and-breakfast) [Thorpe Green House Vegetarian Bed & Breakfast 3 Sledgates, Robin Hoods Bay](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/hotels/thorpe-green-house-vegetarian-bed-breakfast) [Victoria Hotel Station Road, Robin Hoods Bay](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/hotels/victoria-hotel) ## Things to Do in Robin Hood's Bay(1) [All attractions in Robin Hood's Bay →](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/attractions) Top things to do in Robin Hood's Bay Beyond the view from the top of the bank, the village rewards slow exploration on foot. Highlights include: - **The old village and its ginnels** — a network of narrow yards and covered passages built so tightly together that, according to local lore, smugglers could once move contraband from house to house without stepping outside. - **Fossil hunting on the shore** — the exposed rock ledges at low tide are one of the best beginner fossil-hunting spots on the Yorkshire coast, with ammonites regularly found among the shale. - **Robin Hood's Bay Museum** — housed in the village's former Coroner's Court, with displays on the smuggling trade, shipwrecks and the fishing community that built the place. - **The Old Coastguard Station** — a National Trust visitor centre by the slipway, in a building that once housed a lookout post set up specifically to counter the local smuggling trade. - **The end of the Coast to Coast Walk** — Alfred Wainwright's 192-mile trail from St Bees in Cumbria finishes here, and walkers traditionally dip a boot in the North Sea and toss a carried pebble into the water to mark the finish. - **Cleveland Way coastal walking** — the clifftop path north to Whitby (around six to seven miles) and south towards Ravenscar both give sweeping views back over the bay's red rooftops. - **Boggle Hole** — a small cove a mile or so south of the village, reached along the beach at low tide or via the Cleveland Way, with rockpools and a youth hostel set in an old mill. [Old Coastguard Station ⭐ 4.5](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/attractions/old-coastguard-station) [🎟️Sightseeing & Attractions Robin Hood's Bay](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/attractions/robin-hood-s-bay) [🎟️Sightseeing & Attractions Huntfun Whitby](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/attractions/huntfun-whitby) [Mini Monsterz ⭐ 4.6](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/attractions/mini-monsterz) [Mini Monsterz Scarborough ⭐ 4.6](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/attractions/mini-monsterz-scarborough) [Bark Endeavour ⭐ 4.7](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/attractions/bark-endeavour) [Whitby Abbey ⭐ 4.6](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/attractions/whitby-abbey) [Captain Cook Memorial Museum ⭐ 4.5](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/attractions/captain-cook-memorial-museum) ## Where to Eat in Robin Hood's Bay(3) [All restaurants in Robin Hood's Bay →](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/restaurants) Food and drink in Robin Hood's Bay The Bay Hotel, right on the slipway at the bottom of the village, is the traditional first and last stop for Coast to Coast walkers, with its Wainwright's Bar serving pub food and sea views next to the finishing point of the trail. Hotel Victoria, up at the top of the bank, has Osborne's Restaurant and The Loxley pub for more formal dining alongside a garden bar for alfresco drinks looking out over the bay. Elsewhere in the village you'll find independent tearooms, fish and chip shops, and small cafes tucked into the yards, many geared towards feeding walkers arriving off the Cleveland Way or the Coast to Coast. [Brambles Bistro ⭐ 4.8](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/restaurants/brambles-bistro) [The Old Coastguard Station ⭐ 4.5](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/restaurants/the-old-coastguard-station) [Moorside Hotel](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/restaurants/moorside-hotel) [Ravenscar Tea Rooms ⭐ 4.6](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/restaurants/ravenscar-tea-rooms) [Beacon Farm Tea Room ⭐ 4.8](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/restaurants/beacon-farm-tea-room) [Waterside at Chainbridge ⭐ 4.8](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/restaurants/waterside-at-chainbridge) [Mini Monsterz ⭐ 4.6](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/restaurants/mini-monsterz) [Harbourside Tea Room ⭐ 4.9](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/restaurants/harbourside-tea-room) ## Attractions Near Robin Hood's Bay [All attractions in Robin Hood's Bay →](https://staycation.co.uk/attractions) Worth the trip — within 50 miles of Robin Hood's Bay. [0 mi Old Coastguard Station Whitby · ⭐ 4.5](https://staycation.co.uk/whitby/attractions/old-coastguard-station) [🎟️Sightseeing & Attractions 4 mi Huntfun Whitby Whitby](https://staycation.co.uk/whitby/attractions/huntfun-whitby) [5 mi Mini Monsterz Whitby · ⭐ 4.6](https://staycation.co.uk/whitby/attractions/mini-monsterz) [5 mi Mini Monsterz Scarborough Scarborough · ⭐ 4.6](https://staycation.co.uk/scarborough/attractions/mini-monsterz-scarborough) [5 mi Bark Endeavour Whitby · ⭐ 4.7](https://staycation.co.uk/whitby/attractions/bark-endeavour) [5 mi Whitby Abbey Whitby · ⭐ 4.6](https://staycation.co.uk/whitby/attractions/whitby-abbey) [5 mi Captain Cook Memorial Museum Whitby · ⭐ 4.5](https://staycation.co.uk/whitby/attractions/captain-cook-memorial-museum) [5 mi Whitby Whale Watching Centre Whitby · ⭐ 4.6](https://staycation.co.uk/whitby/attractions/whitby-whale-watching-centre) ## Camping in Robin Hood's Bay [All campsites in Robin Hood's Bay →](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/camping) About camping in Robin Hood's Bay Robin Hood's Bay sits within the North York Moors National Park, where heather moorland runs down almost to the cliff edge, and the coastline itself offers some of the most scenic camping and glamping in Yorkshire. As in the rest of England, wild camping without the landowner's permission is illegal, so campers need a proper site, a farm pitch, or a bothy/hostel arrangement rather than pitching up on the clifftops or beach. Fortunately the area around the village and along the coast towards Whitby and Scarborough has a good spread of small campsites and glamping pods, many run by local farms, offering sea views, easy access to the Cleveland Way, and a much quieter alternative to staying in the village itself. The terrain here is coastal moorland: exposed, breezy, and prone to sudden weather changes even in summer, so a well-pegged tent or a wooden glamping pod with proper insulation makes a real difference to comfort, especially outside the height of summer. The best camping season runs from late spring through to early autumn, when the moors are drier underfoot, the evenings are long enough for a walk down to the shore after pitching up, and the fossil-rich beach is at its most accessible at low tide. July and August bring the warmest weather and the busiest sites, so early booking is essential, while May, June and September often give a better balance of decent weather and available pitches. Glamping has grown quickly around Robin Hood's Bay in recent years, with shepherd's huts, safari tents and converted farm buildings offering a comfortable base without the need to carry your own kit down the village's notoriously steep bank. Many sites make a point of their sea views or their proximity to the Cleveland Way, letting campers walk straight out onto the coastal path or down to Boggle Hole and the fossil beds without needing a car. Whichever way you camp, a night here under a big, dark, moorland sky, with the sea audible below, is one of the more atmospheric ways to experience this stretch of coast. [Hooks House Farm ⭐ 4.8](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire/camping/hooks-house-farm) [Farsyde Farm ⭐ 3.6 · from £25/night](https://staycation.co.uk/whitby/camping/farsyde-farm) [Bay Ness Farm ⭐ 4.4](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire/camping/bay-ness-farm) [Middlewood Farm Holiday Park ⭐ 4.5 · from £26/night](https://staycation.co.uk/north-york-moors/camping/middlewood-farm-holiday-park) [Northcliffe and Seaview Holiday Parks ⭐ 4.9](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire/camping/northcliffe-and-seaview-holiday-parks) [Northcliffe Holiday Park ⭐ 4.9](https://staycation.co.uk/high-hawsker/camping/northcliffe-holiday-park-high-hawsker) [York House Caravan Park ⭐ 4.3 · from £30/night](https://staycation.co.uk/whitby/camping/york-house-caravan-park-whitby) [Coast and Camplight ⭐ 5.0 · from £15/night](https://staycation.co.uk/whitby/camping/coast-and-camplight) ## Self-Catering Cottages in Robin Hood's Bay [All cottages in Robin Hood's Bay →](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/cottages) [The Nook 3 bed · sleeps 5 · from £512](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire/cottages/the-nook-syk1200910) [Sterling House 4 bed · sleeps 8 · from £687](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire/cottages/sterling-house-syk3637) [🏡Cottage Rose Garth 3 bed · sleeps 5 · from £293](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire/cottages/rose-garth-cc243080) [2 The Close 4 bed · sleeps 8 · from £568](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire/cottages/2-the-close-syk1011487) [Heather Croft 3 bed · sleeps 5 · from £436](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire/cottages/heather-croft-syk925) [🏡Cottage Rokeby House 4 bed · sleeps 8 · from £701](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire/cottages/rokeby-house-syk1157881) [🏡Cottage Oakfield Cottage 2 bed · sleeps 4 · from £383](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire/cottages/oakfield-cottage-uk37091) [Delft Cottage 2 bed · sleeps 4 · from £461](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire/cottages/delft-cottage-syk21885) ## Common questions about Robin Hood's Bay Where can I stay in Robin Hood's Bay? We list 7 hotels, B&Bs and guest houses in and around Robin Hood's Bay. What is there to do in Robin Hood's Bay? We list 1 attractions and things to do in and around Robin Hood's Bay. Where can I eat in Robin Hood's Bay? We list 3 restaurants, pubs and cafes in and around Robin Hood's Bay. ### 🏨 Find Hotels in Robin Hood's Bay Search hotels, B&Bs and self-catering on Booking.com. [Search Accommodation →](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-101762279-15734754?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.booking.com%2Fsearchresults.en-gb.html%3Fss%3DRobin%2BHood%2527s%2BBay%252C%2BUnited%2BKingdom) Affiliate link ### Explore Robin Hood's Bay - [🏨 Hotels & B&Bs](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/hotels) - [🏡 Cottages](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/cottages) - [⛺ Campsites & glamping](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/camping) - [🎟️ Attractions](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/attractions) - [🍽️ Restaurants](https://staycation.co.uk/robin-hoods-bay/restaurants) - [🗺️ More in North Yorkshire](https://staycation.co.uk/north-yorkshire) - [🧭 All of the Yorkshire and the Humber](https://staycation.co.uk/regions/yorkshire-and-the-humber) ## Staycation ideas for Robin Hood's Bay [All staycation ideas →](https://staycation.co.uk/staycation-ideas) [The Best Last-Minute UK Staycations Six well-connected UK towns and cities worth booking at short notice, chosen for easy travel and a decent spread of accommodation once the school-holiday crowds have thinned.](https://staycation.co.uk/staycation-ideas/best-last-minute-staycations) [Rainy Day Staycations: Best UK Breaks for Bad Weather When the forecast turns grim, these UK cities and spa towns keep their appeal indoors, with museums, galleries and grand architecture to fill a wet weekend.](https://staycation.co.uk/staycation-ideas/rainy-day-staycations-uk) [The Best Dog-Friendly Staycations in Britain From Cornish coast paths to Lake District fells, these six British destinations offer the open beaches, moors and forests that make a staycation genuinely enjoyable for dogs and their owners alike.](https://staycation.co.uk/staycation-ideas/dog-friendly-staycations) [The Best UK Staycations for Families with Young Kids From New Forest ponies to Cornish rock pools, these six UK destinations combine easy logistics, safe beaches and family-friendly attractions for a stress-free break with young children.](https://staycation.co.uk/staycation-ideas/best-staycations-for-families)