Explore Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire, England. This picturesque fishing village on the coast of the North York Moors is a perfect spot to stay for a UK short break, or to visit as a day trip from Scarborough or Whitby.
As well as being a beautiful seaside village, Robin Hood's Bay has a fascinating history of smuggling. This village is a maze of tiny narrow streets that were perfect to help smugglers slip through unnoticed.There are so many old cottages dotted around that it’s easy to imagine they were involved in assisting smuggling in some way. During it’s peak it is said that around one third of people who lived in the village were involved in smuggling.
The goods most commonly smuggled were alcohol, tobacco and tea.
Smuggled goods used to be distributed at the inns and were passed around the village through a network of underground tunnels. The Bay Hotel, which overlooks the beach, has been built on the location that was one of the key sites in distributing smuggled goods.
To find out more about the history of smuggling in Robin Hood's Bay you can visit the National Trust’s Old Coastguard Station Visitor Centre or Robin Hoods Bay museum.
Robin Hood's Bay is also a popular place for fossil hunting. Sitting on North Yorkshire’s Jurassic Coast, at Robin Hood’s Bay beach you could find fossils that are 160 million years old. Ammonites are commonly found here.
If like us you don’t really know what you are doing when it comes to fossil hunting, there is also a free dinosaur and fossil museum..
Robin Hood’s Bay is the final destination of the popular 190 mile long west to east coast to coast walk, so if you are attempting this walk then you will be rewarded with this beautiful village at the end!