A weekend in Scarborough, out of season

By Ruth Ardsley · 6 min read

There are two Scarboroughs and they do not overlap much. The summer one belongs to the arcades and the donkeys and the queue outside the ice cream place on the foreshore. The other one starts in about the middle of October, when the boarding houses put their prices down and the harbour goes back to being a harbour.

We prefer the second. Not out of any snobbery about candyfloss, but because the town makes more sense when you can see it. The bay is an almost perfect crescent and in August you cannot look at it for people.

Where to walk

Start at the harbour and go clockwise. The lighthouse pier is short and usually wet and you can watch the boats come in past the end of it. Then up through the castle headland, which costs a few pounds and is worth it for the view back down over both bays at once.

North Bay is the quieter one and the walk along it is flat, long and completely exposed. Take the wind seriously. We have turned back twice.

Where to eat

The chip shops are all fine and one of them is very good, and we are not going to settle that argument here. What is worth knowing is that several of the better places shut on Mondays and Tuesdays out of season, so check before you walk twenty minutes in the rain to a closed door.

Staying

The guest houses on the north side are cheaper and further from the noise. In February you can turn up without booking, which is not something we would try in July.