Staithes walk on the Cleveland Way in Yorkshire to Port Mulgrave (& Runswick Bay) with stunning coastal views

Staithes walk Cleveland way yorkshire coast best ideas circular Runswick Bay Port Mulgrave

The old fishing village of Staithes from the surrounding cliff tops - a land that time forgot on the Yorkshire Coast. This walk is superb and one of the best on the Yorkshire Coast.

Map: Staithes circular walk to Port Mulgrave

This walk starts from Staithes Car Park at the top of the bank and heads in a clockwise direction. Firstly you go down into Staithes itself by the sea - then a 10 minute little detour to get to what I think is the best view of Staithes from up Cowbar Bank. You then go back through the village and up onto the Cleveland Way along the cliff tops to Port Mulgrave. You return on an inland route via Hinderwell and a nice woodland walk. The walk can be extended all the way to Runswick Bay and you'll find more details about that further down the page.

If you don't have a Phone Map App - I really recommend downloading the one by Ordnance Survey. You can plan walks and download the maps to your phone and it will show you exactly where you are on the route even when you have no internet signal! (It works off your phones inbuilt GPS) It's really very useful and I'd be lost without it (literally :) Click the link below to find out more.

Staithes circular walk to Port Mulgrave details:

Distance: 4.85 miles
Walk time: 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy

This is one of the best walks you can do on the North-East coast in my humble opinion - if you haven't done it - I hope this post makes you want to give a go

Photos of what to expect on this Staithes walk:

On any visit to Staithes you should pay a visit to this view point and this walk route includes a little 10 min detour over the little bridge in this pic and up Cowbar Lane to this superb vantage point that many people don't know about. It's a pretty steep bank but well worth it. After soaking up the views it's back down the bank and over the bridge into Staithes once again.

Walking through the quaint old streets of Staithes

On this particular walk we stop in the Royal Oak pub to grab a takeout coffee to fuel us up for the hike ahead. The Cod & Lobster nearby is also a good place for a drink & food.

We head out of the main village and get ourselves on the Cleveland Way

You soon get another stunning view of Staithes from the surrounding cliff tops.

Onwards and along the Cleveland Way which tracks the cliff edges - be careful with dogs and kids up here!

The cliffs are pretty rugged, steep and imposing! The next bay is Port Mulgrave and after that it's Runswick Bay!

Looking back at where we have just came from in a fairly short space of time

There are plenty of impressive views up here to admire and this bench is a welcome pit stop

This is Port Mulgrave - not as big as you would expect! This viewpoint is actually from Lingrow Howe and the particular map route above doesn't come this far but I thought you'd like to see what Port Mulgrave actually looks like! Port Mulgrave is the point where this route leaves the Cleveland Way to head back to Staithes. (However you can continue onto Runswick Bay - see longer route below)

After leaving Port Mulgrave it's little bit of roadside walking towards the village of Hinderwell and then further inland for 5 mins through some farm fields

You then enter the woods at Cliff Hill where the path follows Dale Beck. There are multiple paths in the woodland - so a phone Map App that shows exactly where you are is helpful here in making the right turns (I'm currently using OS Maps)

After walking the cliff tops with the bracing fresh air - the woodland walk is a nice leisurely way to get back to Staithes

The days where short when we done this walk (January) so the sun is setting at the end and it's back to Staithes for a well-earned drink in a cosy pub

Map: Extend your Staithes circular walk to Runswick Bay!

If you have time you may wish to extend it from Port Mulgrave all the way to Runswick Bay to an excellent high viewpoint of Runswick Bay. You'll then come back via Hinderwell and onto the woodland walk as above. This route is 7.14 miles and will take about 3.5 hours.

The view of Runswick Bay at Cliffemount Hotel where you can grab a bite to eat and a drink before you begin your return to Staithes!

And there you are - 2 excellent circular walking routes from Staithes along the Cleveland Way and back. I hope this blog post inspires you to visit the area, and Staithes in particular - which is my favourite place on the Yorkshire coast.

If you want an original photo of Staithes (taken from above by drone) to remind you of this stunning place in North-Yorkshire - you can now buy a photo print in my online shop: www.hikingphotographer.bigcartel.com

Staithes video - filmed from above by drone:

On a recent visit to Staithes I took my drone and filmed from even above - you can see my recordings below on the 2min video I uploaded to YouTube:

Post by Stuart Hodgson
'The Hiking Photographer'

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