Robin Hoods Bay, North Yorkshire

Its a week ago now that my short break in Robin Hoods Bay ended and it seems like much longer. That’s the funny thing about holidays – you plan them months in advance, book everything, look forward to going and then its all over in a flash. After a few days at home, it seems like a dream and you wonder if you actually went…

If you follow me on Instagram you will know that I was slightly in love with the view from the little cottage I stayed in with my daughter and her boyfriend. Eve’s Cottage is in the old part of the village, at the bottom of the steep hill and then up via steps and paths back to the top of the cliff.

I’d only been to Robin Hoods Bay on day trips before and that was years ago. I didn’t realise how lovely this place was – truly magical.

The weather wasn’t fantastic during the week we were there but the variety made the views even more interesting. When we first arrived, we had two days of sea fret, with low lying cloud and mist and it was quite cold for June.

On our first night we discovered that the local shop sold bottles of unusual ales. It would have been nice to drink them outside on a warm, balmy and sunny evening, but that’s the British weather for you… we had them inside, all cosy by the AGA in the cottage (lovely).

Things did improve and just sitting on the little terrace outside the cottage was mesmerising… and whether the tide was in our out made a huge difference to the view and that combined with the various weather patterns meant that things changed almost hourly…

The village of Robin Hood’s Bay

The old village is extremely old and has a history that involves fishing, smuggling and a fair degree of violence. You wouldn’t think that when you visit today. Its a quiet, tranquil yet very popular place for tourists to visit. The steep street that goes from the newer part of the village is eye-wateringly steep and when I drove down it the first day to reach the car park at the bottom (where you have to have a permit, usually provided by your cottage), I thought it was just one-way. But no! Driving back up again was more hair-raising because I don’t really know what would happen if you met another car coming the other way at the same time.

Off the main street are just a few smaller ones, which are usually blind ends – and also steep. Mostly though, the paths to the cottages are too small for cars and you need to be prepared to walk with your cases quite a way when you arrive and leave.

When you reach the bottom of the hill, you get to the slip way onto the beach, which is quite rocky. It also possible to get cut off by the tide, so this is a beach where you have to watch what the sea is doing and check the tide times before going for a long beach walk.

Robin Hood’s Bay beach

On the third or fourth morning the sun was shining and it was a gorgeous clear day, just right for photos and exploring. This is a view back into the old part of the village from the steps up to the path that leads from the slipway to the beach.

The tide was also way out so the sandy beach was in full view. And, as you can see, I was almost the only person there!

The sea wall and rocky foreshore

If you retrace your steps away from the beach and back into the old part of the village you can walk up the hill round the back, via the sea wall and rocky foreshore. Beyond the sea wall is a grassy meadow walk lined with wooden benches, often with memorial inscriptions.

When I started posting my photos of Robin Hood’s Bay on instagram while I was away, I got a message from Lucy at Attic24. I’ve met Lucy a few times now, having attended one of her bower bird workshops and she was really helpful and supportive to me at to Heather from The Patchwork Heart during the charity draw for the Spring Flower Blanket, which raised over £10,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. I didn’t know it but RBH is one of Lucy’s special places and she asked me to photograph one of the benches as she loved the inscription so much…

This walk was one of my favourites and I did it several times during the week, the last time after our meal at The Victoria, a really nice pub at the top of the hill. I walked back this way and walked down to the rocky foreshore, again deserted, at nearly 10pm. This was June and we were only a few days from the summer solstice, and the quality of the light was amazing. The sea itself was still and calm and the bay felt like a place sheltered and hidden from the turbulence of the real world.

And on our final morning, the view did not disappoint. I woke up early – very early – to find my room was pink. I slept with the blinds and windows open so I could hear the sea and when I looked out of my window at 4.30am, the sun was just putting in an appearance. I took a few photos and this is one of the few times in my life when I have actually seen the sunset and had a camera handy to take pictures of it…

You have probably had enough by now but I’ve put more photos of Robin Hood’s Bay in a Facebook album on my page Crafternoon Treats and a second album has loads of photos of the cottage where we stayed – Eve’s Cottage. Very quirky and very fab. I think I’ll be going back there, definitely xxx