Walking in East Yorkshire - Flamborough Head

Flamborough Head

Sea Stack at Flamborough

The other half had a week off this week (I work for myself from home so I gave myself a week off too) so we decided we'd go to see what there was at Flamborough Head. The other half couldn't remember if he'd been there before, so he must have been very young if he had. To get to Flamborough you head for Bridlington and get onto the B1255 out of the north east of town. Keep going on that road and you'll end up at Flamborough lighthouse. We parked up in the pay and display at the lighthouse. The charges weren't too bad (considering I come from the south, I thought they were very reasonable). We paid £1.20 for 2 hours. In that time we walked all over the cliff tops, down the steps and paths that are cut into the cliffs, and I took tons of photos. We were on Flamborough the day after some freak windy weather that the northern half of the country had had. The day we were there is was still blooming windy, but it made for very clear air for taking photos.

Flamborough Beacon

This picture of the beacon at Flamborough is one of my favourites that I took because the colours of the sky, sea, and grass are so sharp.

Looking down onto North Landing's fishing boats

As you go through Flamborough Village, just before you get to the lighthouse at Flamborough Head, there is a crossroads with North Landing to the left, and South Landing to the right.  When we had finished looking round Flamborough Head we decided to go back and see what was at North and South Landings. We decided take a look at North Landing first. We briefly stopped at the North Landing car park and had a look down the cliff path to the fishing boats that land there and are hauled up onto the beach. They are quite iconic. If you ever see pictures of Flamborough, you'll more than likely see the bright blue, red and yellow boats moored up.

The eroded steps to Thornwick Bay

But, on the way to North Landing, just before The Viking pub, there was a turning to the left marked, Thornwick Bay and caves. I love a good cave, so we went to take a look. There was a cafe sat right on the edge of the cliffs, and just beyond there were some really rickety steps where they had been eroded away by the weather that led to the Bay and the cave. I managed to scramble down (the other half wasn't too keen so he stayed at the top of the cliff).

Thornwick Bay beach with cave entrance to right

Going through the cave at Thornwick Bay

I got some fab shots of the cave and the pebble beach. I was the only one on  the beach at the time, so it felt really secluded. I call it a cave. It's not very long, and part of the roof has fallen away so it's quite light inside. But it's still very interesting and mysterious when you are inside it.

View from the end of Thornwick Bay cave

I don't know how long the cave will be in the bay. It looked like it was being eroded as well as the route down to the bay. It was very spectacular though, so I hope it's around for a while yet.

Giant Nest Sculpture at South Landing

Back down to the crossroads from North Landing and it was straight across to South Landing. There's a car park at the top of a slip road that goes down to the beach and the lifeboat house (50p for an hour's stay - bargain!). On the opposite side of the car park is the entrance to a mini wildlife walk. It goes through a wooded valley where nest boxes are in the trees and there is a bird feeding station with a small bird hide, it then takes you out along field boundaries,  then along the cliff tops, and finally takes you back along the other side of the wooded valley before you cross the stream and go back to where you started. It was a very nice little walk. Only about 1.5km long, but there were some great views from the cliff tops, and there were sculptures all along the route to look at. The giant nest and eggs was my favourite.



Fabulous knarled tree at South Landing Wildlife walk

All in all, I can thoroughly recommend a day trip to Flamborough Head and both the Landings. We saw lots of birds nesting from the cliff tops at Flamborough, so if you go in nesting season, take your binoculars. The wildlife walk and beach at South Landing are well worth a visit. There's rockpooling to be done on the beach at low tide, as a school trip we saw there were finding out. And, at North Landing, Thornwick Bay cave felt like a bit of an adventure, and the cafe did a lovely sausage, egg and chips. Other half would sing the praises of the roast pork dinner too. He'd also sing the praises of the prices, being from Yorkshire. You can't overcharge in Yorkshire, that's the rule.