Hayburn Wyke Walk: The Cleveland Way, Ravenscar and the Coast

🌊 The Hayburn Wyke walk is a circular coastal route on the North Yorkshire coast that combines the clifftop drama of the Cleveland Way, the wartime history of the Ravenscar Radar Station, sweeping views across Robin Hood's Bay, and the sheltered beauty of Hayburn Wyke, a hidden coastal valley where ancient woodland meets a rocky shore and a double waterfall tumbles onto the beach. The contrast between the open clifftop path outward and the quiet return along the Cinder Track gives the route a very satisfying shape. 🗺️ The walk starts at the small pay-and-display car park near the Hayburn Wyke Hotel, before dropping through National Trust woodland to the beach at Hayburn Wyke, where Hayburn Beck falls onto the shore as a waterfall. From there, the route climbs to the clifftop and follows the Cleveland Way north, passing Petard Point and the Ravenscar World War II Radar Station before arriving at Ravenscar. A short detour descends past the Raven Hall Hotel to one of the finest views of Robin Hood's Bay on the walk, before the route turns south and joins the Cinder Track for the return to Hayburn Wyke via Staintondale. 📋 The walk covers nine and a quarter miles and takes around four and a half hours to complete, with a total ascent of 1,256 feet. It is a circular route best navigated using the Ordnance Survey Explorer map OL27. Parking is available at the pay-and-display car park near the Hayburn Wyke Hotel, where the charge at the time of writing was five pounds for the day, payable by cash only. 🌿 Hayburn Wyke is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, recognised for both its geology and its wildlife. The cliffs date from the Middle Jurassic period and the beck has exposed the Hayburn Wyke plant bed, which contains around sixty fossil species and is regarded as one of Yorkshire's most important Jurassic plant fossil sites. The woodland supports oak, ash, birch, elm and large-leaved lime alongside ferns, mosses and liverworts, while breeding birds including chiffchaff, pied flycatcher, redstart and blackcap make it a lively place in spring and summer. ✨ The beach at Hayburn Wyke is an unspoilt cove where Hayburn Beck cascades directly onto the shore, a rare natural feature. The Cleveland Way delivers sweeping coastal views and a close look at the surviving buildings of the Ravenscar Radar Station, including the Communications Hut, Transmitter and Receiver Block, Fuel Store, and Engine House. The descent past the Raven Hall Hotel offers the finest view of Robin Hood's Bay on the walk, while the return along the Cinder Track passes through two stone tunnels, a tree-lined cutting, and the former station at Staintondale. 🧭 Whether you are drawn by the coastal scenery, the history, or the wildlife, the Hayburn Wyke walk has a great deal to offer. The full route description, interactive maps, photographs, and links to view the route on OS Maps and Outdooractive are all available on the website. https://www.paulbeal.com/hayburn-wyke...