Sandsend

Where the becks meet the sea

Two becks reach the sea at Sandsend, each coming down a wooded valley off the Mulgrave Estate. Sandsend Beck and East Row Beck give the village its shape: a broad sandy beach running southeast towards Whitby, whose pier and abbey stand along the shore, and a pair of older settlements strung together by later building along the front. Children paddle in the becks where they cross the sand. Northwest, the beach gives way to cliffs and the remains of old alum quarries.

The Fish Cottage sits about twenty yards from the beach and combines a seafood restaurant with a fish-and-chip takeaway. It opened in 2020 and has outdoor seating. Locally caught seafood is the focus, with fish and chips, fishcakes and crab fries among the takeaway choices.

A village that eats well

For something more formal, Estbek House is a Grade II-listed Georgian house with rooms and two AA Rosettes. Tim Lawrence, the chef, spent twenty-five years as head chef at Trenchers in Whitby before this; his co-owner David Cross looks after the wine. The menu changes daily around whatever wild fish is landed, and has taken in scallops, hot-smoked salmon, Whitby kipper pâté, lobster Thermidor and a Shiraz-glazed fillet steak. The travel writer Paddy Burt called it "a handsome Georgian house in a picturesque village close to a sandy beach."

Mary's Sandwich Shop keeps the daytime end busy. The Piccante stacks mortadella, prosciutto, spicy salami, Gruyère, mozzarella, chilli jam and 'nduja mayo; there is a Porchetta Banh Mi with Vietnamese-spiced pork belly, and a French Dip of roast Yorkshire beef, provolone, caramelised onion and gravy. Sandside Café stands on the foundations of the demolished railway viaduct and has been run since 2022 by a local farming family, Paul and Alison Hodgson. The café's triple-chocolate brownie has won awards; there are fruit and cheese scones, gluten-free carrot cake, and banana, peanut-butter and honey "pupcakes" for dogs, who get their own covered seating.

From beach hut to brasserie

Down on the sand, Tides began as a beach-hut kiosk in 2010 and now has a wood-fired pizza oven, breakfast buns, cornflake tart and eighteen flavours of Yorkshire dairy ice cream, along with children's wetsuits and aqua shoes for anyone who arrived unprepared. The Hart Inn, beside East Row Beck, is the village pub: bar dining and a separate restaurant, a beer garden and parking at the back, Black Sheep Best Bitter and Greene King IPA on the bar. Dogs are welcome in the bar and garden but not the dining room. On the edge of the village, Saltmoore's brasserie is in the Michelin Guide for dishes like Whitby-crab tartlet and a North York Moors heather-honey crème brûlée, and the Beach House pizzeria pours locally brewed Turning Point ales. Families with small children have Tree Tots, a woodland-themed play café at East Row for ages nought to five.

Tide lines, trails and trains

Walking draws many visitors. A beach circuit of about three miles takes roughly two hours, following the sand at low tide and returning through the village with Whitby Abbey in view. The Cleveland Way follows the coast in both directions. Runswick Bay is five miles north on foot, while the Arriva X4 links the Lythe Bank Bottom stop with Runswick Bay and Whitby. Whitby is about five kilometres southeast and has the nearest railway station; the A174 runs through Sandsend. Inland, permissive paths cross Mulgrave Woods. The wider coast exposes Jurassic sandstone and shale, and loose beach material can yield ammonites; keep to the sand and watch the tide.

Alum, railway and a rescued church

Alum was worked here from 1733, and most of the alum house now lies under the main car park, with one rubble wall and its two entrances still standing. Trains reached Sandsend in 1883 and stopped in 1958; the station is now a residence. St Mary’s, the small church in the valley, faced closure in 2017 until villagers raised more than a quarter of a million pounds to reroof, heat and light it and swap the pews for stackable chairs. The church holds a weekly gathering called Coffee and Quack.