Best beaches in Yorkshire

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Below are a list of the top 12 beaches in Yorkshire as selected by the users of the Beach Guide website.

The current most popular beach in Yorkshire is Filey. If you would like to have your say on which are the best beaches in Yorkshire just follow the link to the beach and vote by clicking the star ratings at the top right of the page.

  • 1. Filey Beach

    Filey © Tim-hoggarth | BY-SA

    The traditional seaside resort of Filey is less commercial than some of its East-Coast neighbours and is an ideal seaside location for young families or anyone looking for a fine stretch of good sand for walks, playing in the sand, kite-flying or even horse riding.

    The glorious 5-mile stretch of golden sand stretches from the rocky…

  • 2. Scarborough Beach (South Bay)

    Scarborough © Airwolfhound | BY-SA

    Scarborough is one of the UK's top seaside resorts and it's easy to see why.  Whatever your age, whatever your idea of what makes a good day out at the seaside, you're going to find what you're looking for in this vibrant Yorkshire town.

    Scarborough offers visitors two large, sandy bays, divided by a rocky promontory…

  • 3. Saltburn Beach

    Saltburn © Christopher Combe Photography | BY-SA

    Saltburn is a seaside resort with a rich heritage dating back to the Victorian heyday and beyond. The town was developed off the back of the Industrial Revolution and the local iron industry in particular. Whilst the boom times may have long passed many of the trappings of the Victorian era remain. There is the…

  • 4. Whitby Beach

    Whitby © Bluecowboy2002 | BY-SA

    Whitby has beaches on both sides of the River Esk. On the east side is the smaller Tate Hill, a sheltered sandy beach that allows dogs all year round. On the other side of West Pier is West Cliff, a larger sandy beach with colourful beach huts, deckchair and windbreak hire, a children's paddling pool…

  • 5. Robin Hood's Bay

    Robin Hood's Bay © Peter Church | BY-SA

    The beach at Robin Hood's Bay has a powerful, natural beauty, all of its own, making a great destination for amateur photographers.  With its backdrop of craggy cliffs and sweeping views round the bay, this is a popular destination for day trippers and dog walkers.

    At high tide the beach is largely submerged by water,…

  • 6. Reighton Beach

    Reighton © Hjsp82 | BY-SA

    Reighton is a long, sandy beach just to the north-west of the Flamborough Headland Heritage Coast, looking northwards over Filey Bay. The beach is popular for swimming as well as walking.

    Reighton is an excellent place to stretch the legs, thanks the vast expanses of flat sands that are exposed at low tide and…

  • 7. Runswick Bay

    Runswick Bay © Scott Rimmer | BY-SA

    Runswick Bay, about 9 miles north of Whitby, is widely regarded as one of the prettiest spots on the Yorkshire coast. Come here in the summer months for sandcastles, beach games, rock pooling and maybe even a dip in the waters. Come here out of season for hearty cliff-top walks along the Cleveland Way or…

  • 8. Staithes Beach

    Staithes © Mike Kirby | BY-SA

    The eminently photographic fishing village of Staithes is reckoned by many to be the prettiest on the east coast. Sitting within the shelter of the harbour and backed by the seafront is a small sandy beach.

    Staithes is where the North York Moors National Park meets the sea and the towering, rugged cliffs are in…

  • 9. Bridlington Beach (South Beach)

    Bridlington © Paul Glazzard | BY-SA

    Bridlington South is the wide expanse of sand to the south of Bridlington Spa and Bridlington Harbour, on the East Riding coast. The beach is over a mile long, after which it becomes Fraisthorpe Beach. To the south, the sandy coastline extends as far as the Humber estuary, making this an excellent spot to go…

  • 10. Bridlington Beach (North Beach)

    Bridlington © Jthomas | BY-SA

    An excellent sand and shingle beach with an attractive promenade and great views of the impressive chalk cliffs of Flamborough Headland. The cliffs are a nesting site for thousands of sea birds and the only mainland nesting site for the Gannet in the UK. Rock pools, a land train and a range of traditional seaside…

  • 11. Mappleton Beach

    Mappleton © Habiloid | BY-SA

    The wide sandy beach located in front of the East Riding village of Mappleton is ideal for dog walking. This section of North Sea coastline is known as Holderness and is situated around 3 miles (5 km) south of the seaside resort of Hornsea.

    Whilst you won't find any of the traditional at seaside attractions…

  • 12. Hayburn Wyke Beach

    Hayburn Wyke © Oliver Dixon

    Located in the beautiful countryside of the North Yorkshire Heritage Coast, just north of Scarborough, is the little known beach of Hayburn Wyke. Here the coast path dips down through the woods to emerge next to a pair of waterfalls.

    The curving bay here is made up of rocks and small boulders, so you won't…