The Yorkshire Coast by Motorhome: Scarborough to Whitby and Beyond

The stretch of coast between Filey and Staithes is one of the most varied in England - sandy bays give way to dramatic cliffs within a few miles, fishing villages cling to impossible cliffsides, and the smell of fish and chips seems to hang in the air permanently. The whole lot sits within ninety minutes of our Pontefract depot, making a Yorkshire Coast motorhome trip one of the easiest and most rewarding routes you can do. Here is how to spend four or five days doing it properly.

Day 1: Filey - Sandy Beach and the Brigg

From Pontefract, head east on the A63 and A1079, then north on the A165 to Filey. The drive takes about ninety minutes. Filey is the antidote to Scarborough's bustle - a proper old-fashioned seaside town with a sweeping crescent beach, a Victorian promenade, and the Brigg, a natural rocky peninsula that juts out into the sea. At low tide, the rock pools on the Brigg are some of the best on this Yorkshire Coast itinerary - fossils, anemones, crabs, and blennies in ankle-deep water.

Filey Brigg Caravan Park sits on the cliff above the Brigg with views south toward Flamborough Head. Pitches are on grass with electrical hook-ups, and the walk down to the beach takes about ten minutes. Alternatively, Crows Nest Caravan Park between Filey and Scarborough offers super pitches with individual water and waste points - useful if you want full services.

For the evening, pick up fish and chips from Ingham's on Belle Vue Street, widely regarded as the best chippy in Filey. If the children want a beach day before moving on, Filey is the place - the sand is clean, the water is safe for paddling, and Coble Landing at the south end has a cluster of fishing boats and a cafe that does a proper crab sandwich.

Day 2: Scarborough - Two Bays and a Castle

The drive from Filey to Scarborough takes fifteen minutes on the A165. Scarborough is the big beast of the Yorkshire coast - two sweeping bays divided by a castle headland, enough amusements and ice cream shops to occupy children for days, and a surprising amount of genuine history.

The South Bay is traditional seaside - the Spa complex, the funicular cliff lifts, and the harbour with its fish market. The North Bay is quieter: Peasholm Park with its famous miniature naval battles on the boating lake, the Open Air Theatre, and the Sealife Centre. Scarborough Castle, 300 feet above the sea on the headland, is an English Heritage site with views stretching from the moors to Flamborough on a clear day.

Scalby Close Park on the north side of Scarborough is a well-regarded site within walking distance of the North Bay, with 42 pitches and hardstanding. Cayton Village Caravan Park, south of town, is another solid option with quieter surroundings and good facilities. Both accept motorhomes and have electrical hook-ups.

Fish and chips: the Magpie Cafe on the harbour is Scarborough's most famous but always has a queue. Mother Hubbard's on Westborough is excellent and less crowded. The Golden Grid on Sandside has been serving since 1883 and the harbour views are hard to beat.

Day 3: Robin Hood's Bay - The Village That Falls Into the Sea

Head north from Scarborough on the A171 toward Whitby, then turn off at the sign for Robin Hood's Bay. This tiny fishing village tumbles down a near-vertical cliff through a maze of cottages, smugglers' passages, and tiny shops to a slipway at the bottom. At low tide, the rock pools at the base of the cliffs are spectacular - fossils embedded in the shale, sea anemones in every crevice.

Important motorhome note: you cannot take a motorhome into Robin Hood's Bay village. The road is far too steep and narrow. Park at the car park at the top of the hill and walk down - about ten minutes to the bottom, though the return climb is a proper workout. The Wainwright Coast to Coast walk finishes here, and you will often see tired but elated walkers dipping their boots in the sea at the slipway.

Hooks House Farm Campsite, just outside the village on the road from the A171, is a basic but well-positioned site that accepts motorhomes and puts you within walking distance of both the village and the Cleveland Way coastal path. Middlewood Farm Holiday Park, slightly further up the road, has better facilities including showers and a small shop.

If you are feeling active, the Cinder Track runs 21 miles from Scarborough to Whitby along the old railway line. You can pick it up near Robin Hood's Bay for a flat, easy walk or cycle toward Whitby without any cliff-edge drama.

Day 4: Whitby - Kippers, the Abbey, and 199 Steps

Whitby is the crown of any Yorkshire Coast motorhome route. Captain Cook's sailing town, Bram Stoker's inspiration for Dracula, and home to what many people consider the best fish and chips in the country. The drive from Robin Hood's Bay takes fifteen minutes along narrow roads with glimpses of the sea through gaps in the hedgerows.

Start with the 199 steps up to Whitby Abbey - the ruined Benedictine monastery that dominates the east cliff and provided the gothic atmosphere Stoker used for his vampire novel. The abbey is an English Heritage site and worth the entrance fee for the audio guide alone. From the top, the view across the harbour and out to sea is one of the finest on the entire coast.

The harbour divides Whitby into east and west sides. The east side is older and more atmospheric - narrow yards, jet jewellery shops, and the Captain Cook Memorial Museum in the house where Cook lodged as an apprentice. The west side has the main shopping streets and the beach. The swing bridge connecting the two opens regularly for fishing boats, which is endlessly entertaining and occasionally frustrating.

For kippers, Fortune's Smokehouse on Henrietta Street has been smoking fish since the 1870s. Buy a pair and cook them in the motorhome for breakfast - there is no finer start to a day on the coast. For fish and chips, the Magpie Cafe is the famous choice, but Trenchers on New Quay Road and Quayside on Pier Road are equally good and often shorter queues.

Whitby Holiday Park on the west cliff accepts motorhomes and is walkable to the town centre - it has 8 hardstanding pitches with 16-amp hook-ups. For our full rundown of sites in the area, see our Whitby campsites guide.

Day 5: Runswick Bay, Staithes, and the Drive Home

If you have a fifth day, the stretch north of Whitby is worth every minute. Drive ten minutes to Runswick Bay first - a crescent of golden sand backed by a tiny village of red-roofed cottages clinging to the hillside. It is less famous than Robin Hood's Bay but arguably more beautiful, and far quieter. The beach is excellent for swimming and the rock pools at the north end are rich. Most competitors skip Runswick Bay entirely, which is their loss.

Then continue ten minutes north to Staithes, an even more dramatic fishing village tucked into a cleft in the cliffs. The harbour is tiny, the cottages stack against each other up the cliff face, and Captain Cook worked here as a grocer's boy before moving to Whitby. The Cod and Lobster pub sits right on the harbour wall and gets waves crashing against its windows in a storm. Parking note: Staithes has a pay car park at the top of the village. The road down is too narrow for a motorhome - walk the ten minutes down to the harbour.

The Cleveland Way runs along the clifftops above Staithes. The walk south toward Port Mulgrave - an abandoned Victorian ironstone harbour carved into the cliffs - is spectacular. Allow a couple of hours for the round trip.

From Staithes, the drive home to Pontefract takes about ninety minutes via the A174 and A19 to the A1(M). Alternatively, head inland through the North York Moors via Castleton and Hutton-le-Hole, picking up the A169 to the A64 at Malton - longer but beautiful moorland driving.

The Coast by Steam Train

One addition worth planning around: the North Yorkshire Moors Railway runs heritage steam and diesel trains from Pickering to Whitby through the heart of the moors. Park the motorhome in Pickering, take the train to Whitby, spend a few hours in town, and ride back. The journey through Newtondale and past the Levisham Moor viewpoints is one of the great railway journeys in Britain, and arriving in Whitby by train - emerging from the moors to a sudden view of the sea - is genuinely special.

The Yorkshire Coast works for everyone - families, couples, solo travellers, dog walkers. It is close to home, endlessly varied, and proves that you do not need to drive hundreds of miles for a proper motorhome holiday. Five days, four or five campsites, and some of the best coastline in England. Not bad for a trip that starts ninety minutes from your front door.