It was recently named as one of the UK’s “ridiculously beautiful” seaside villages that you must “visit at least once” – but after visiting, one journalist wasn’t entirely impressed.
There’s no shortage of amazing seaside towns and villages here in the UK, and one particular area with loads to offer is the North Yorkshire coast.
Home to tourist hotspots such as Scarborough and Whitby, this corner of the country draws in plenty of visitors all year round. One journalist recently decided to deter from the beaten track a bit, and visit a lesser-known – but still beautiful – spot.
Runswick Bay was recently dubbed as one of the UK’s “ridiculously beautiful” seaside villages that you must “visit at least once” – so Yorkshire Live reporter Samantha Teasdale thought she’d check it off the list. However, it wasn’t quite everything she expected.
Following an hour and a half journey, she found herself baffled about her location despite having previously spotted a sign declaring ‘Welcome to Runswick Bay’. Instead, she found herself perched atop a steep slope with nothing but houses beside a car park in sight.
After parking up, she wandered about to discover there was a route leading down towards the shore.
Samantha said: “Parking up again, but closer to the beach, I was feeling a little more relaxed as I knew I was in the right place. My first impression of Runswick Bay was that it was a picturesque coastal retreat with bright white buildings and red roofs dotted around the sloping hill. It definitely had a similar feel to most of the other North Yorkshire villages that I had visited.
“Excited to explore, I followed the other handfuls of tourists heading up to the main village where beautiful houses boasting lush green gardens with plants exploding with colour. Of course, with many rural towns and villages along the North Yorkshire coast, I soon came across a pub, The Royal Hotel.”
She then found herself navigating the winding streets of Runswick, where holiday homes were advertised with leaflet boxes outside. However, she quickly became somewhat disoriented as she attempted to find her way to the beach.
Samantha wrote: “I reached several dead ends and saw private property signs which made me turn back the way I came. It looked like the only way to the beach was from the car park.
“Passing The Royal Hotel again, I decided to pop in for some lunch and enjoyed a gammon steak with all the trimmings with a glass of Diet Pepsi to wash it down. It was a cosy pub, with attentive staff, great food and dog friendly. However, there were a lot of flies around and did stop me from finishing my meal.”
Finding herself at a bit of a loss, Samantha then remembered there was another route down to the two beaches. After strolling along the longest one, she returned to Tides cafe for a rest.
At this point, she noticed it was filling up a bit, with pensioners, families with young kids, and other customers.
However, like Samantha, after exploring the houses, the pub, café and beach – they soon returned to their cars to head home.
Samantha’s first encounter of Runswick Bay unfortunately fell slightly flat. She said: “As a first-time visitor, I would say that Runswick Bay was a nice area but was not the ‘day out’ I was hoping for. It was only really a place that you can visit for around about two hours before running out of things to do. If you are not staying at one of the holiday cottages or at a nearby campsite, then there is nothing much going on I’m afraid. It does not have a lively atmosphere, and is probably more of a secluded, hidden gem, than I first realised.
“The golden sands and tranquil Yorkshire coast holiday vibes are pleasant at Runswick which cannot be said for most busy places – even in winter months, however, even if I was visiting at the height of summer, I cannot see myself returning. I would find that there was not much to do in the secluded beach area, but perhaps if I had young children, I would think differently.”