Thursday, 6 June 2013

Coastwalk

Hornsea → Bridlington

police-informed.png Distance: 13.70 miles
Ascent: 83m metres
Duration:

You shall not pass
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A very careful look at the map shows the bridleway leading north out of Hornsea has a hundred metre gap at Double Gates. A sign on the ground points out that those continuing do so at their own risk. This was positively welcoming compared to a sign we saw a little later.

discarded-armchairs.pngGenerally we've been trying to respect landowners' wishes when walking along the East Yorkshire coast. Today, one passive-aggressive sign was too much, and I refused to be deterred.

"Pardon my French," said a local dog walker after telling us what he thought of them as we climbed back onto the public highway past even more 'Keep Out' signs. "They're just annoyed," he went on to explain, "their land tumbled over the edge so they've had to buy another strip from the farmer."

5-mph.pngFor the rest of the day we felt positively welcomed, despite the fact that once again we were generally not on rights of way. Mostly these paths were through caravan parks that we came to know by their unique selling points: the one with the Costa; the one with the golf course; the one with the CCTV; the one with the Camelot amusement arcade; the one with the road falling into the sea; the really lovely one.

cliff-reflection.pngBeyond Barmston wide sands beckoned so we dropped onto the beach. A stretch further up is used by naturists, and as we passed one man was filming his partner who must have dropped a contact lens while getting dressed since she was crawling around on all fours a fair bit. [Ed: I'm not sure his filming was that innocent, actually.]

bridlington-fair.pngEventually the prom came into view and we made our way into Bridlington, stopping on the northern side of the harbour, ready for another long day tomorrow.

Notes for future walkers:

  • The clifftop path out of Hornsea is rapidly disappearing. We managed to follow it as far as the southern prong of the tuning-fork shaped Belvedere Park (TA 205 487), then turned onto Cliff Road.
  • At Double Gates, there's a gap in the bridleway past the sailing club, but we had no trouble.
  • From Cliff Road Atwick, we walked north on Long Lane. Where the public footpath comes to an end (TA 190 521) it's possible to continue through the next two caravan parks and past the golf course at Out Lees.
  • Withow Gap (TA 183 546) is where we encountered passive/aggressive "keep out" signs. If they deter you, a field-edge route may be possible. We were not able to determine where it would be possible to climb from the beach back up to the clifftop if you choose the lower option.
  • A sign on the field north of Hornsea Lane Skipsea (TA) requested only those with permission continue on the clifftops, but a man we met on the road said we'd be fine. (We were.)
  • Approaching the caravan park above Tranmere Cliff we remained in the fields, following the park boundary to the left, and the left again until we could pass through the hedge to the road at TA 175 561.
  • North from Cobble Gap, enter the caravan park at TA 176 562, landward of an amusement arcade. Turn right at the junction at TA 176 564, follow the track to the left, then turn right again at TA 176 565 before leaving the park in the north-east corner at TA 176 566. This drops you onto Southfield Lane which can be followed north to Sand Lane, Ulrome.
  • The next caravan park is easy: stay close to the clifftop.
  • After leaving the park at TA 173 576, we remained on the clifftop paths past the end of Sands Lane, Barmston (TA 169 593) before dropping to the beach at TA 170 598
  • We walked the beach the to the end of the prom at Hildethorpe (TA 174 650).
Posted by pab at 16:22 | Comments will be back one day. Please email me instead!