During our recent trip to Yorkshire a day out to Robin Hood's Bay was on the cards. It ended up being just a few hours, as that's all it takes to traverse this picturesque seaside village (you could make it last longer if you stopped for lunch/ fancied a swim, etc., but we were there for the sightseeing.) It was certainly worth the short bus ride from Whitby.
How did Robin Hood's Bay get it's name? We'll look into that...
The first thing that caught my eye was this trifecta of lions, outside the White Owl holiday apartments. Very regal!
There is a little park as you begin to make your way down towards the beach, and the Millennium Statue sits inside it. It's by David Duncalfe, was completed in 2004 and represents a fallen trunk with a globe perched on it, the year MM, a boat, an owl, a portrait of Robin Hood and- wait for it- E.T. It's based on the tree of knowledge, and showcases things that were happening around the Millennium (E.T. represents Stephen Spielberg.)
The welcome sign, telling you about the village known locally as Bay or Baytown.
The spectacular view, and if Robin Hood even existed then it's doubtful that he ever visited the town...
Like Whitby, Robin Hood's Bay is a town of stairs.
Between 1324-1346 Louis I, Count of Flanders wrote to King Edward III, complaining that Flemish fisherman were taken by force to Robyn Oeds Bay...
If you don't like, or cannot do, stairs then you can take the sloping road alongside.
Robin Hoode Baye was mentioned by English poet and antiquary John Leland (or Leyland) in 1536...
The village has super-cute little cottages.
The name Robin Hoodis Baye is attested as far back as 1544...
Further down we go towards pubs and shops, and the town is full of interesting nooks and crannies. There is an English ballad called The Noble Fisherman, which tells of Robin Hood visiting nearby Scarborough, but that's a 17th century ballad at its earliest...
Looking down onto this little stream, which runs from King's Beck Tunnel. The truth of the matter is that nobody knows for certain how the village got its name.
Another fantastic view, and imagine living here and waking up to that every day! Many houses in the village were built between 1650 and 1750, and fishing and farming were the main town industries, with whole families being engaged in the fishing industry.
A tucked away door, and the fishing industry started to decline in the late 19th century. Nowadays tourism is the main industry.
Foliage creeping up the wall, with the stream below. Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula has some scenes set in Robin Hood's Bay. It is well known that nearby Whitby was seriously inspirational to him.
Staring up at The Cove- a converted chapel that's now a coffee shop and wedding venue, and what I first thought were statues are actually closed umbrellas! Robin Hood's Bay has been the setting for several novels, and has featured as a filming location.
Hello, Mr Gnome! I wonder what the villagers think; having people nosing around near their properties throughout the tourist season?
The Smugglers Bistro & Bar was built in the 1600s...
A closer view of the pub sign, and I have read that they have a skeleton sitting in the bar! I didn't pop in to find out, and I'm unsure if it was open when we were there.
The Bay Hotel, which sits on the final part of the cobbled descent down towards the beach...
The other side of the road...
King's Beck Tunnel is an old smuggling tunnel which runs right beneath the Bay Hotel. It is now largely blocked, but it's well known that there was a network of subterranean tunnels which were used to transport contraband such as brandy, rum, silk and tobacco...
Many discreet locals- from all levels of society- were deeply involved in smuggling activities. Some had "smugglers' holes" dug under the floors of their properties, to assist with bringing contraband ashore and stowing it until it could be moved on.
Down on the beach of this picturesque cove, and the tide was well-and-truly out...
Seaweed en-masse...
Looking the other way across the bay...
Concrete groyne...
The sandals I was wearing were sensible (honest!) and had flat, clumpy soles...
You can drop monetary donations to the RNLI into the fish's mouth!
Back up we go, past the Old Post Office, which is now a café...
The Higgledy Pig sells Yorkshire craft beers and gins...
Olde-worlde style lamp...
We stepped down onto The Story of Bay- Footprints Through Time...
It's 50 metres long and reflects the local area...
It was created by local artist Ruth Wilkinson and finished in 2016...
It uses 300,000 tiles known as tesserae...
It features notable points in history, and this one appears to be about fishing and smuggling...
The Yorkshire House Dinosaur and Fossil Museum was very interesting...
Heading up to The Bay Museum, and you can see the street sign Jim Bell's Stile. He was a local mariner, is buried in old St Stephen's church, and several streets are thought to be named after locals.
View down and across the village...
Into The Bay Museum, which is set in the Old Coroner's Room, which in turn was converted from a cottage in 1891. It had a mortuary built into its east wall!
Robin Hood's Bay shipwrecks...
Fishing life was a family affair...
Smuggling was a village affair!
Almost every house in Bay had secret hiding places concealed by secret doors, and this cross-section of a house invites you to find them...
Fishing and lobster pots...
From the Cradle to the Grave is a theme in the Old Mortuary, and this section is dedicated to funerals (after all, it is something we will all have to have). I tried the top hat on- it was slightly too small for my fat swede!
What life was like in Bay; including drama groups, concerts and choral recitals; under a bust of Reverend Robert Jermyn Cooper (1858-1916), who was Vicar of Fylingdales.
Children and school days, and a traditional girl's white pinafore dress, which was worn to keep clothes clean and tidy.
From 1900 this building became a Reading Room, and later a Reading Room and Library, until its 1987 closure. You can still undertake research here...
Ships in bottles...
The disappearing coastline, and in 1780 22 houses fell into the sea. It's been questioned why anyone would build a village in such a precarious area in the first place.
The railway came to Bay in 1885 and was closed in 1965.
This 1986 model shows how Bay may have looked 200 years ago...
Robin Hood's Bay issued its own, heart-shaped, halfpenny tokens.
An original Robin Hood's Bay halfpenny token, issued in 1669 was found by a metal detector and came to the museum in 2012.
A final nosey parker around nooks and crannies...
Looking down through the greenery onto the stream, as we headed towards the main ascent...
The trudge uphill begins, and could I stay here? Possibly not- it's a bit too quiet for me. But I'll certainly pop down to visit this pretty place again if I'm in the area (which I probably will be, as I think I've found my spiritual home on this part of the Yorkshire coast.)💓
I will return to Robin Hood's Bay.
Until then,
TTFN
The Miss Elaineous
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