For my birthday, Sam took me away to the gorgeous Gisborough Hall Hotel, and then to Saltburn-by-the-Sea to see their famous cliffs and ride the cliff lift (I love a cliff lift!) Sadly, when we arrived in Saltburn, the famous lift was closed (and the website hadn’t alluded to the fact that it was going to be closed for the next few months much to Sam’s horror) and we didn’t get to see the famous cliffs as it was so foggy that you couldn’t see more than a few feet away from your face.
Fortunately, we were in the car so we popped down the road to Staithes, North Yorkshire to explore a last minute alternative. And I’m so glad that it happened that way!
Staithes is absolutely gorgeous. It looks akin to Whitby, but even smaller and more hilly with a large artistic community. It had glorious higgledy-piggledy buildings and winding alleys. I was only there approximately 30 seconds before I tried to pick out which house I was going to live in one day. If you watched Daniel Day-Lewis in his (alleged) last film, ‘Phantom Thread’, the cobbled street scenes were filmed in Staithes.
So here are my Staithes recommendations for you: Have a cream tea in one of the many, many tea shops and pop-up cafes in the area. Then visit one of the art galleries, or perhaps even the Captain Cook heritage museum. Then head down to the old village, shore and harbour. It’s a tiny area but it’s reasonably sheltered by the high cliffs. And lastly, finish your day in Staithes off with an ice-cream. You’re by the sea-side so you must! It’s a necessity!
If you’re extra ambitious, walk by one of the high cliffs to take the perfect instagram photo of Staithes looking down at where the river joins the harbour from above. When Sam and I ventured up there we found a seagull’s nest which was pretty awesome.
The other thing that I learned from my time is Staithes is that local children still go crabbing using just a piece of rope and a sliver of uncooked bacon. It looked like something that a Victoria schoolchild would do for fun and I couldn’t help but giggle. (And also be scared because I find crabs a bit terrifying.)
If you can time it right, plan to visit Staithes in September during the Staithes Festival when loads of cottages and public buildings will again throw open their doors to the public as pop-up galleries for a selling exhibition of work by local and visiting artists.
Whilst I was disappointed to not get to see more of Saltburn, I was absolutely delighted by Staithes. It is the most picturesque seaside town that I’ve ever visited – it’s practically taken from the pages of a fairytale. I’d love to rent an airbnb old cottage in the area and have a “back to the basics” weekend: great food, slow living, and no technology.
Have you ever visited Staithes? What other coastal towns do I need to visit?
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Broadstairs
Whitby
Clevedon
Hastings Seafront and Old Town
Margate
North York Moors Railway
Whitby & Robin Hood’s Bay
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