Cloughton to Scarborough Walk

6.1 miles (9.8 km)

This walk follows a section of the Cleveland Way from Cloughton to Scarborough. Starting in Cloughton you first head east to the coast where you pick up the waymarked trail.... Follow it south for just under 6 miles and it will take you past Scarborough Sea Cut and Scalby Beck before finishing at the historic Scarborough Castle.
The route transitions from rural farmland into rugged coastal cliffs before concluding on the urban promenade of Scarborough's North Bay. The path is largely level but features some moderate gradients and steps as it navigates the clifftops. A notable engineering landmark along the way is the Scarborough Sea Cut, an 18th-century flood alleviation channel that connects the River Derwent to the North Sea at Scalby Beck. The final leg of the walk takes you past the rocky headland dominated by the 12th-century ruins of Scarborough Castle.
The varied environments along this trail, including maritime heathland, wooded becks, and tidal estuaries, support a wide range of wildlife. The clifftops provide nesting sites for seabirds such as herring gulls and fulmars, while the scrubland bushes are used by migrating songbirds. At the mouth of Scalby Beck, walkers can frequently observe grey herons and cormorants hunting for fish in the shallow waters where the freshwater meets the sea. The intertidal rocks below the castle headland are also a reliable spot for observing turnstones and other wading birds foraging along the shoreline.