Reighton, Speeton and Hunmanby Gap - a Circular Walk
This
is one of my favourite walks, a gentle ramble taking a good half day in decent weather.
It's just over five miles in all, so allow about four hours.
The walk starts at Speeton, a small village on the North side of Flamborough Head.
If travelling by car, take the Flamborough turning off the coast road at the
Dotterel onto the B229, then turn left through Speeton village and park at the church.
You're welcome to park there for free during the week, but if it's a Sunday with
a service on, be considerate and park back in the village. For public transport,
buses go past the village from Bridlington and Filey, so get off at Speeton and
walk through the village to the church.
The church of St Leonard's at Speeton, is a gem. It's a tiny Norman chapel, probably built on the site of a earlier Saxon one. When I say tiny, I mean tiny. The church
is always open, so take the time to wander in and look round a truly ancient place
of worship.
There are several things worth looking at. The font is Saxon. Now isn't that an
incredible thought; an artefact made around about a thousand years ago still in
use today. There's a couple of lovely stone carvings from Norman times, one of them
an Angus Dei (a depiction of Christ as the lamb with a cross), and the other a simple
stone cross. But overall, the feeling is of intimacy and peace. The church has a
donations box, as does the car park, so be generous and leave a few bob.
From the church, take the footpath towards the coast across the fields. This is
well marked and easy to follow, diagonally across the first field, then following
the field fence. As you're going, notice the old coastguard cottages on the
top of the hill. Probably one of the world's windiest places to live. At the
end of the field fence the path goes straight on across open country to meet the
coast path. Again well marked and easy to follow. Notice the pillbox to the left
- this area is riddled with WWII coastal fortifications, so if that's your bag,
take a look. If you're really into that sort of thing detour South along the coast path
to Bempton Cliffs, where there's a couple of disused installations. I'm not certain,
but they look like acoustic radar sites.
Where it meets the cliffs, the path goes down the cliffs to the beach. This is the
trickiest part of the walk and can be a touch difficult underfoot, though still
suitable for all but the smallest children.
The beach at Speeton is the far end of Filey Bay, and you should be able to see
Filey on the far side. At low tide this is a magnificent stretch of sand,
and there's a couple of shipwrecks to be seen, and the remains of more WWII fortifications.
To the right the cliffs become massive and steep. These are the famous "Bempton
Cliffs", now an RSPB bird sanctuary, home to some of the biggest seabird breeding
colonies in the UK. If you're at all into birds or just want to see Puffins and
Gannets nesting, then it's well worth a visit. There's no access from the bottom of the cliffs, so you have to either follow the coast path or drive there through
Bempton village.
But, back to the walk. Amble gently North along the beach towards Filey. At first
the beach is generally deserted, but after about a mile there's a small break
in the cliffs, and there's generally people about. This is Reighton Gap, leading to Reighton Sands Holiday Village, a massive collection of caravans and chalets.
Passing Reighton Gap, keep walking and after another mile or so is Hunmanby Gap.
This is hard to miss as it's bigger then Reighton Gap and has a cafe perched just
above the beach. The cafe is a godsend, bacon butties and hot chocolate in Winter,
and Ice Cream in Summer; who could ask for more. The Gap is quite popular in Summer
so expect a fair crowd here, but as the beach is so big it's
never overcrowded.
Coastal erosion here is a real problem as the cliffs are soft boulder clay, and
parts of The Gap regularly fall into the sea. At the moment there's a good path
off the beach which was built to replace the previous steps that washed away. Apart
from the cafe, there's also some clean and well maintained public toilets,
so it really is a good place to break the walk. And if you've come by car there's
cheap parking in a field.
From here the walk heads back the way we've come but along the cliff tops. Take
the steps up the cliff side, heading back the way we came. This gives a good view
of the houses: ponder the location and dwell on just how much longer they'll
be around.
The clifftop is remarkably pretty. It's good arable land so's farmed, but
there's a good field margin meaning you're not squashed up against the cliff top like
on some of the coastal paths up near Whitby. Follow the path all the way back to
Reighton Holiday Village. As caravan sites go, I quite like this one. It's peaceful,
hidden from the road, has direct access to the beach and no bingo or karaoke. Nice.
Don't go into the main part of the site, head up the road towards the main gate.
At the gate the road bends to the right. Leave the road here and follow the track
straight ahead going towards Moor Farm. Continue straight up the track until you reach the steep embankment at the back of the fields. This is a permissive path and as such
is not marked on OS maps, but for peace of mind there's a notice all about
it at the end of the track.
Cross the fence at the end of the track, then climb the steep slope (Speeton Hills) heading about
45 degrees to the left. As you climb the hill, there's a small unmanned
military installation
next to Beacon Hill; head for that and go round the front of it. We're still on
permissive paths here, so don't worry about being on MOD land or anything. In case
you're feeling remarkably stupid, don't be tempted to climb the fence into the MOD
installation as they're all protected by remote alarms and the MOD Police are not
likely to offer tea and sympathy.
From here, follow the field edges back into Speeton. The path isn't so well defined
(again a permissive path) but it is quite charming and in season comes with
a lovely display of wildflowers. And
that's it, the walk's over. A nice gentle amble which could only be improved by
Speeton having a pub. If you've worked up a thirst, any of the pubs in Hunmanby
Village or Flamborough would be a good choice.
Or perhaps try the Dotterel on the coast road, it's under new ownership so might be worth a look.