What about Whitby? 7

Another day in Whitby, another day for a walk! After clocking up the miles to Robin Hood's Bay and back, we felt entitled to cheating a bit and saved our bloody stumps by taking the bus a half hour up the road for the start of our next ramble along the seaside.

Staithes is yet another old fishing village along the Yorkshire coastline, but in an even more spectacular setting than Whitby or Robin Hood's Bay. Much of the town is huddled into a ravine, hiding behind cliffs from the sea.

And for good reason too, as storms over the years have washed away a number of buildings on the seafront.

Staithes has suffered a lot over the years and not just because of Mother Nature. Its fishing industry has dwindled a great deal (although the harbour has more boats than Robin Hoods Bay). Its days as an artists colony are long gone as well. We passed several empty shopfronts, a derelict pub and only a few other sightseers. Many houses appeared to be holiday homes, which also take their toll on what little life remains in town.

Having said that, there were a handful of pubs, cafes and art galleries which seemed to be doing decent trade that day.

Unlike Robin Hood's Bay, Staithes is much more accessible by car and has a larger harbour which can accommodate beachcombers and fishing boats alike.

The only thing which detained us was a half pint at The Royal George, which had a varied menu that looked quite good, although it was too early for lunch and the whole place was in need of a clean.

Elsewhere in town is a small museum in a former chapel. Among its exhibits you can learn about the young Captain Cook, who was an apprentice here in a shop that has long since fallen victim to a particularly fierce storm.

Behind the seawall and away from the harbour we found the trail leading up out of town and onto the clifftops.

Only a mile to the north at Boulby are the highest sea cliffs in England...crowned by the chimneys of a mining operation that produces half the country's potash. So instead we headed a mile south to Port Mulgrave.

Passers-by might expect another charming fishing village, but in fact this was only ever a tiny harbour used for shipping out the iron ore mined from the cliffs surrounding it.

Its sea wall was dismantled during WWII in case any Germans wanted to sneak into the disused harbour and launch an invasion. These days it is home to a collection of fishermen's huts and plays hosts to fossil hunters.

Only an hour's walk further along the edge of the sea cliffs and we arrived at the top of Runswick Bay. Like the other fishing villages in the area, there is a new town atop the cliffs and an old town next to the harbour.

We had a pub in mind in the new town, but they had no ale on offer so we crossed the road where a woman had set up some tables and chairs in her front garden.

We had sandwiches, salad, coleslaw, crisps, tea and scones for about £12 which was a bit dear considering the size of the portions, but in a lovely setting with a friendly hostess. From here it was literally straight down to the bay.

Click back next time for a look around the charming old town, the brilliant beach and more countryside rambling on our way back to Whitby!