Railway traces by the coast
Hawsker
Join the Cinder Track at Hawsker, then pause for village history and food.
- Best for
- Off-road cycling and railway history
- Give it
- A half day for the track, church and food stops
- Don't miss
- The Cinder Track through Hawsker
The Fox verdict
A small village with a long railway afterlife
Hawsker is a practical starting point for the Cinder Track, with compact layers of railway, church and Anglo-Scandinavian history.
The 21.7-mile Cinder Track runs through Hawsker on the former railway. All Saints' and a roadside view of the tenth-century Hawsker Cross add heritage pauses; the village and Bottoms Lane have a pub and cafe options.
Where to go
Places in Hawsker
Every place below is checked against a published source, listed with what it is and how long to give it.
Local signatures
3 placesHare & Hounds, Hawsker
A village pub with separate bar and dining spaces, homemade food, real ales and a lawned beer garden with parking.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 90 minutes
- Locality
- in Hawsker village
Coast Cafe Bar
Coast Cafe Bar at Northcliffe Holiday Park welcomes walkers as well as park guests from its site beside the Cinder Track and serves a changing menu.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 60 minutes
- Locality
- at Northcliffe Holiday Park on Bottoms Lane
York House Hotel Cafe and Bar
York House Hotel has a cafe and bar serving food and drinks near Hawsker's old railway line.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 60 minutes
- Locality
- at Hawsker near the old railway line
Walks & outdoors
1 placeThe Cinder Track at Hawsker
A 21.7-mile off-road walking and cycling route on the former Scarborough-Whitby railway, passing Hawsker's old station before continuing towards Larpool Woods and Whitby.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 2 hours
- Locality
- passing Hawsker's former station and the A171
- Access
- Loose coarse gravel towards Robin Hood's Bay is unsuitable for thin road-bike tyres.
History & heritage
2 placesAll Saints' Church, Hawsker
A rock-faced sandstone church built in 1876-77 to E. H. Smales's designs, with a central tower, chancel screen, tiled wall panels and original brass candelabra.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 35 minutes
- Locality
- in Hawsker village
Hawsker Cross
A headless 1.84-metre stone shaft with eroded interlace, vine-scroll and figure carving, dated to the tenth-century Anglo-Scandinavian period.
- Visit length
- Editorial estimate: around 20 minutes
- Locality
- beside the old Whitby Abbey-Robin Hood's Bay road
- Access
- The cross stands in a private garden; view it from the road.
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Three ways to explore Hawsker
Signature outings
Follow the Cinder Track
Follow the old Scarborough–Whitby railway trackbed through Hawsker towards Whitby or Robin Hood's Bay; the southern stretch has loose coarse gravel.
Study All Saints' fabric
Look for E. H. Smales's rock-faced sandstone church, central tower and steep hipped roof. A chancel screen and tiled wall panels add detail inside.
Pause at the Hare & Hounds
The village pub has separate bar and dining rooms, homemade food, real ales and a lawned beer garden.
The village story
Hawsker's Railway and Carved Cross
Old railway carriages, a divided village and a much older carved cross give Hawsker a compact but unusually layered story.
The Station and the Two Hawskers
Railway carriages stand beside the platform at Hawsker's former station, which served the Scarborough–Whitby line until 1965. The 21.7-mile Cinder Track follows the old trackbed. Whitby lies about three miles one way and Robin Hood's Bay about three miles the other; loose coarse gravel makes the latter stretch harder going. Hawsker is a starting point for shorter circular rides on the Moor to Sea network.
Hawsker comes in two halves, split by the A171. High Hawsker is the older and tighter of the two: sandstone and brick cottages close to the road, pantile roofs, low stone walls. Low Hawsker is more open, its houses set behind gardens along broad grassy verges. The B1447 branches off through High Hawsker towards Robin Hood's Bay, and the X93 and X94 buses connect Hawsker with Whitby and Scarborough.
Village Tables and Trackside Cafes
The Hare & Hounds has separate bar and dining areas, homemade food, Sunday lunch, changing themed food nights and three real ales. Outside are a lawned beer garden and parking.
On Bottoms Lane beside the Cinder Track, Coast Cafe Bar at Northcliffe Holiday Park welcomes walkers as well as park guests and serves a changing menu. York House Hotel also has a cafe and bar serving food and drinks near the old railway line.
All Saints and Hawsker's Older Story
All Saints' was built in 1876–77 to designs by the Whitby architect E. H. Smales, in rock-faced sandstone under a central tower with a steep hipped roof. Inside are a chancel screen, tiled wall panels, two original brass candelabra and a monument to Martha McCausland, who died in 1893. In 2000 it was refloored and fitted with a kitchenette and toilet, and it now doubles as the village school's gym, drama space and music room.
There was a church here long before it. An 1890 county history records that in 1123 Aschetine de Haukesgarth was given Hawsker by the abbot of Whitby, built and endowed a chapel to All Saints, and then became a monk himself; the chapel was gone before the present one was raised. Older still is Hawsker Cross, a headless stone shaft of the tenth century that may once have marked the southern edge of the abbey's estate. The name itself means "hawk's enclosure."
Hawsker's Former Windmill
In 1985, Hawsker's shortened former windmill was being used as a chemical store. The former Hawsker windmill and adjoining house were built between 1849 and 1863.
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A guide with a point of view
Written from research. Edited for real journeys.
Use the Official site links for live practical details, then use this guide for context, ideas and room to explore.
Sources
Every place on this page is checked against a published source. Each entry links the record we used and names who publishes it.
- The Cinder Track at Hawsker — walkwheelcycletrust.org.uk other published source
- All Saints' Church, Hawsker — historicengland.org.uk statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Hawsker Cross — historicengland.org.uk statutory register or public authority record not machine-readable; publisher restricts automated access
- Hare & Hounds, Hawsker — camra.org.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation
- Coast Cafe Bar — coast-cafebar.com operator, sector body or destination organisation
- York House Hotel Cafe and Bar — new.york-house-hotel.co.uk operator, sector body or destination organisation