A circular walk at Ravenscar

 

Ravenscar

There are many interesting walks from Ravenscar and the one we chose runs parallel to the coast and begins at the café/tourist information point which. We were making for Boggle Hole where we knew there was a café and we had heard of a farmer who keeps peacocks.

It was a pleasant walk along the gorse lined Cinder Path and we came across many walkers and cyclists. We spoke to a couple of cyclists from Milton Keynes, a photographer from the Yorkshire Post who was looking for Stoup Brow Farm and a man who told us of a quicker way to reach the beach at Boggle Hole* which, he warned us, was steep and especially challenging on the return journey. We had checked the tides and knew we could return to Ravenscar via the beach; a reverse of a journey we had made as teenagers.

*Some people believed that boggles, also known as hobgoblins were small mischievous types of goblins that lived in caves along the North Yorkshire Coastline and on remote areas in the moorland. It was said that these boggles had magical healing powers. Often mothers would bring their sick children down to the hob holes hoping that the boggles would cure them of their ailments.

The descent to the beach began on a proper road which took us past a farm where we again saw Jonathan, the photographer. He was a passenger in a green electric farm vehicle emerging from Stoup Brow Farm and, another coincidence, peacocks a plenty could be seen perched on hay bales, rooftops and strutting about the farm.

The way to the beach was indeed steep and the descent included hundreds of steps. When reaching the bridge at the bottom of the steps, I was horrified to see a similar number of steps rising up to reach the village. We decided to take the return route along the beach, thinking it would be flatter and therefore easier. How wrong we were!

The first part of the journey was easy enough walking over the sand, pebbles and shells. Although the cliffs were sheer and high, we could see where we were heading; access to Raven Hall via the golf course. The shingle gave way to sheets of uneven stone with seaweed and rock pools followed by large boulders which we had to scramble across. On, between and under these boulders seal pups were resting and occasionally emitting barks which frightened the dog. Seal pups can’t rest vertically in the water like the older ones, so need a resting period before re-entering the water. Having heard that young seals are rarely dangerous, I was still too cautious to stop and take photos.

We had to go round the headland until we reached the path. By this time we seemed to be the only walkers around. When I say path, it was a track at a very steep angle until we reached some steps and then some more steps and then a very steep path where the wind would have blown me over had there not been a bannister to hold on to.

Eventually we reached the hotel only to find that the bar and restaurant with the sea view was now a wedding venue and the branding had been changed to Grand Villa Heights. The bar/restaurant had be relocated to the side of the hotel and served lovely and very welcome soup and a stottie.

We have been using this hotel since 1969 and have regularly taken our children and grandchildren. It has recently changed. There is no longer a golf course or a paddling pool but there are now holiday chalets. However, there is still the amazing view from the gardens and the indoor pool for guests.

The view from the gardens

The history of Raven Hall and Ravenscar is very interesting indeed. There were plans for the village to become the Blackpool of the East Coast and infrastructure was installed before the money ran out and Raven Hall has been used as a film set.

For walkers, cyclists, photographers and nature lovers, Ravenscar is well worth a visit.