Scarborough Town Walk, South Bay
This town walk connects the harbour, beach, town centre, art gallery museum and other south bay attractions enabling a shorter walk or a day walk including visits to the attractions in this part of Scarborough. The South Cliff Gardens and Spa area afford views across the south bay back towards the castle and town and are a lovely place to relax on a sunny day.
Description
This is a circular walk which can be started at any point. This description starts at the Big Wheel/Coney Island Amusements (or harbour) on Foreshore Road.
(S/E) Facing the sea with the Big Wheel behind you, turn right and walk along the sea front.
(1) Take either the lift or the steps next to the Grand Hotel up to the town. When you exit the cliff lift or steps walk straight ahead onto Harcourt Place, turn left and continue into Falconers Road passing the Premier Inn. Cross the roundabout taking the second exit into The Crescent next to the Crescent Hotel.
(2) This will lead to Crescent Gardens and Scarborough Art Gallery. From the art gallery, continue walking around The Crescent turning right into the park. Make your way diagonally across the park and cross the small bridge with the ironwork railings onto Cliff Bridge Terrace. The Rotunda Museum will be down the slope to your right if you wish to visit.
(3) After your visit to the Rotunda Museum, walk back to Cliff Bridge Terrace and turning right, cross the Cliff Bridge (aka Spa Bridge). At the end of the bridge bear right around the building and onto The Esplanade. Walk along the Esplanade. You may want to explore the park to your left, this includes rose gardens and an Italian Garden.
(4) When you reach the clock tower, enter the park and follow one of the many paths down to the beach. At the bottom, you will find the outline of the south bay bathing pool, which sadly closed in the 1980s and was later filled in. Turn left and walk along the lower promenade/beach back towards the town.
(5) The Clock Cafe is a good place to stop and have some refreshments overlooking the beach. Continue along the lower promenade, you will pass the spa and then reach the Cliff Bridge again, look up to see its construction, then continue along the promenade until you reach the Big Wheel (S/E)
Waypoints
- S/E : km 0 - alt. 9 m - Coney Island Amusments
- 1 : km 0.18 - alt. 13 m - Cliff Lift/Grand Hotel
- 2 : km 0.83 - alt. 40 m - Scarborough Art Gallery
- 3 : km 1.1 - alt. 32 m - Cliff Bridge (Spa Bridge)
- 4 : km 2.32 - alt. 61 m - Clock Tower
- 5 : km 3.52 - alt. 8 m - Clock Cafe/Spa
- S/E : km 4.57 - alt. 9 m - Coney Island Amusements
Useful Information
Transport: There are numerous car parks around in Scarborough, the nearest parking is at the top of the cliff lift in the town centre. This walk passes many hotels along the way so as it is circular you may be able to start the walk from your hotel. The Crescent is also a short walk from the railway station so you can start the walk at Scarborough Art Gallery.
Facilities: There are number of cafes, kiosks and public toilets throughout the walk.
Accessibility: This walk is on paved footpaths. Be mindful of the steep inclines in South Cliff Gardens and follow the suggested wheelchair friendly route to avoid steps. The cliff lift does accept wheelchairs. The bridge from Crescent Gardens may not be suitable for wheelchairs, in this case retrace your steps along The Crescent, cross the roundabout back to Falconers Road and turn right into St Nicolas from where you can access the Rotunda Museum or cross the Cliff Bridge.
Always stay careful and alert while following a route. Visorando and the author of this walk cannot be held responsible in the event of an accident during this route.
During the walk or to do/see around
This walk should take around 1.5-2 hours, but if you wish to check out any of the attractions below then the walk will take much longer.
- Ride the Victorian cliff lift to the town centre
- Scarborough Art Gallery has a number of changing exhibitions throughout the year.
- The Rotunda Museum charts the history of the local area.
- Walk across the Cliff Bridge
- Visit the South Cliff Gardens
- Check out the Star Map
- Enjoy a stroll along the promenade and may be an ice-cream
