Robin Hoods Bay is renowned for it's quaint cottages, narrow alleyways bursting with maritime and local folklore. Follow our itinerary for a wonderful day exploring this amazing village.

Morning

On your way into Robin Hood’s Bay pay a visit to Old St. Stephen’s, a church dating back to 1822 with commanding views across the coastline. The church’s interior remains virtually unaltered since it was built. Look out for the memorials to shipwrecks and the maidens’ garlands.

Then stroll outside and wander through the tiny passages imagining those times when houses were said to be connected by cupboards or tunnels in the cellars. In fact, legend has it that a smuggled bale of silk could pass from the bottom of the village to the top without leaving the houses. Pick up the Smuggler’s Trail and you could spend a couple of hours searching for clues and discovering facts about Robin Hood’s Bay’s secretive past.

Wander over to the sea wall and marvel at ‘The Story of Bay – Footprints through Time’, 50 mosaic panels using 300,000 tiles, depicting the history of Bay through an artist’s eyes, created with help from the community and the local school.

Afternoon

Head down to the Old Coastguard Station, which is now home to the National Trust’s Visitor Centre and find out more about the rich marine life in the bay. Around 170 million years ago Robin Hood’s Bay would have been a deep sea bed and today you can still find evidence of the creatures that would have existed back then, including dinosaurs.

Pick up a Tracker Pack from the Coastguard Station and go on a fossil hunt on the beach once the tide goes out. The pack also contains information for carrying out a rockpool recce and a route map for a two kilometre walk along the bay and cliff path to the delightfully secluded cove of Boggle Hole.

Boggle Hole, so-called as it was said to be a hiding place for hobgoblins, is also an amazing place for rockpooling and fossil hunting. Hidden Horizons can take you on a guided hunt that may well turn up some dinosaur footprints as well.

Evening

At the top of the hill is the Victoria Hotel where you can lap up the last of the afternoon rays with a drink in hand, looking out over the bay! Alternatively stay close to the sea and enjoy a drink at The Bay Hotel on the seafront or retreat to the aptly-named Smugglers Bistro for an evening meal before a final nightcap at Ye Dolphin pub. The Wayfarer Bistro is also renowned for its good food.