Filey Brigg, and the beach nobody uses
Five miles of sand, twenty minutes from Scarborough, and almost nobody on it.
By Ruth Ardsley · 5 min read
Filey is what Scarborough would be if it had never had a funfair. It has a long crescent of sand, a modest front, and a general air of not needing your attention. We go there when we cannot face anywhere else.
The Brigg
The Brigg is a finger of rock running out to sea at the north end, and at low tide you can walk a good way along it. It is exposed, it is slippery and people get cut off on it every year, so check the Admiralty tide tables before you go out on it. Take the tide seriously or stay on the sand.
The sand
At low water the beach is enormous and reflective and almost empty even in August. If you want the sort of photograph where the wet sand holds the whole sky, this is where to get it.
The town
Small, pleasant, slightly faded, with a couple of good places to eat and not much else. That is the appeal and we would not want it fixed.