Staithes

North Yorkshire

Staithes is a seaside village in the former Scarborough district of North Yorkshire.

Staithes is about 10 miles north-west of Whitby and around 9 miles east-south-east of Saltburn-by-the-Sea. The village of Hinderwell is just under two miles away and Staithes is one of five villages covered by its Parish Council.

Homes at Cowbar at the opposite site of Staithes Beck to Staithes village are in the Redcar and Cleveland Unitary Authority district. Although both sides are firmly rooted in Yorkshire, the beck is also the boundary of the 'Yorkshire and the Humber' and 'North East England' regions defined for national Government purposes. Staithes Beck also divides two parliamentary constituencies.

The RNLI lifeboat station is also situated at the Cowbar side of the beck. The lifeboat station was initially established in 1875, but was closed in 1938 and the station moved to Runswick Bay a little further down the coast. Forty years later, and equipped with a new inshore rescue boat, the Staithes lifeboat station was reopened when the RNLI withdrew their lifeboat from Runswick Bay in 1978.

At one time a bustling fishing harbour, the picturesque village now has many holiday cottages and is a popular attraction for artists and photographers visiting the heritage coast.

The former Methodist Church in the village houses the Captain Cook and Staithes Heritage Centre. Staithes was the place where a teenage James Cook gained an early interest in the sea in 1745 when he worked as a shop boy in the village.

Staithes is also on part of the Yorkshire coast which was extensively mined for alum from the 17th to the mid-19th century. Alum was important for fixing dyes used in Yorkshire's busy textile industry. Today, just over a mile away at Boulby, there is mining of a different kind. A deep mine started in the late 1960s and extending under the North Sea, first produced potash and in recent years polyhalite, which are used as agricultural fertiliser.

From 1883, Staithes had a railway station on a coastal line which took trains between Whitby and Middlesbrough. The station was near the top of the steep lane leading down to the harbour. It closed in 1958 along with the section of railway between Whitby and Staithes. The metal viaduct crossing Staithes Beck just beyond the station was demolished a couple of years later. The railway still continues from the Boulby mine towards Middlesbrough for mineral traffic and for passengers beyond Saltburn-by-the-Sea.

Village features

Staithes has a beach.

Staithes is in the North York Moors National Park.

A section of the King Charles III England Coast Path runs through Staithes.

Staithes is on the Cleveland Way long-distance trail, a 110-mile waymarked hiking path around the edges of the North York Moors and North Yorkshire coast with Helmsley and Filey at its end points.

Staithes has pubs.

A choice of cafes can be found in Staithes.

The village has shops.

The village has a visiting mobile Post Office.

The village has a visiting mobile library.

Staithes has a museum - Captain Cook and Staithes Heritage Centre

There are public toilets in the village.
Locations of toilets and opening times can be found at this North Yorkshire Council - Public toilets web page.

Staithes has a school.

Place of worship: Anglican, Catholic.

Travel

Bus travel

The village has buses to neighbouring towns and villages.

Road travel

Staithes can be reached via the A174 .

Places to visit

Heritage coast

A stretch of 36 miles of coastline makes up the North Yorkshire and Cleveland Heritage Coast. This is Yorkshire's Jurassic Coast, where ammonites can easily be found and occasionally bones from marine reptiles and dinosaurs have been discovered. For more see our Heritage Coast page.

North York Moors National Park

The Moors National Park Centre, DanbyStretching inland from the coast between Whitby and Scarborough is the beautiful scenery of the North York Moors National Park, which covers 554 square miles (1,435 square kilometres). Within its area are moorland and coast, historic stateley homes, remains of castles and abbeys and attractive villages including Goathland, famous as the location for TV's Heartbeat, and Grosmont, location of the locomotive sheds of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. The Moors National Park Centre can be found near the village of Danby in the Esk Valley.

More information and links on our North York Moors page.

Goathland

North Yorkshire Moors Railway

GrosmontPickering to Goathland, Grosmont and Whitby
A heritage railway running for 18 miles through the beautiful scenery of the North York Moors National Park. The line runs from Pickering, through Goathland, one of Yorkshire's famous TV and film locations to Grosmont with some journeys extended over the Network Rail Esk Valley line to the picturesque seaside harbour town of Whitby. The 10,000-member charitable Trust behind the railway celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2017 and the line is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the restoration of passenger services in 2023. With more than 350,000 passengers a year the North Yorkshire Moors Railway is possibly the most popular heritage railway in the world.

For details see the

North Yorkshire Moors Railway website.

Whitby Abbey

Whitby Abbey illuminated at nightThe hilltop of the East Cliff at Whitby was first settled with a monastery in 657. It is of religious significance as the location of the Synod of Whitby of 664 where Christians in the then Kingdom of Northumbria adopted Roman rather than Ionian traditions as the norm when both had prevously been practised. The abbey church ruins exisiting today date from the 13th century. They are a significant landmark high above Whitby, which can be reached from the town via the flight of 199 steps. For the less energetic there is a bus service and a car park nearby. Though a substantial part of the abbey remains, it has over the years suffered the damage of storms and an attack on Whitby by the German navy in 1914. Fascinating finds are exhibited in the Abbey House, an extension of what was probably the abbot's house after the supression of the monastery. The abbey hosts events for wildlife spotters and for fans of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Whitby Abbey is managed by English Heritage.

More information at the

English Heritage - Whitby abbey website.

Find Whitby Abbey on map

Emergency services

North Yorkshire Police

North Yorkshire Police website.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service website.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust website.

HM Coastguard

Coastguard - Coastal safety webpage.

Local government

Civil parish council

Hinderwell Parish Council
Provides some local services in the area.
Link to council website:

Hinderwell Parish Council

Unitary authority

North Yorkshire Council

The North Yorkshire Council is a new unitary authority formed from the previous County Council from April 1, 2023. It covers the existing county duties including highways, schools, libraries and transport planning over an area of 3,109 square miles while also taking over the responsibilities of the seven huge district authorities also created in 1974 — Craven, Hambleton, Harrogate, Richmondshire, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby — these including local planning, waste collection, street cleaning, parks and car parks, housing and markets serving a population of around 615,500*.

Councillors were elected to the County Council in 2022 and continue as councillors of the new North Yorkshire Council unitary authority. There have been a few by-elections to fill councillor vacancies since then.

Places in North Yorkshire

Link to council website: North Yorkshire Council

^ Area figure from ONS Standard Area Measurements 2022 (converted from hectares).
* Population figure from Census 2021 (combined total of former districts).
Contains public sector information licensed under the

Open Government Licence v3.0.

Political composition:

453CI 1311 NY Ind92 LC421

90 members

CI = Conservative & Independent NY Ind = North Yorkshire Independents group LC = Labour & Cooperative
Composition and groupings - source North Yorkshire Council (February 2024)

Strategic authority

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority was created in December 2023 combining the unitary authority of York and the unitary authority of North Yorkshire — that created in April 2023 after the abolition of the county authority and its seven district authorities. The combined authority will run some functions under the new mayor elected in May 2024 as part of the government's so-called "Devolution deal" which ties the availablity of funding to the new governance arrangements. As well as having powers over housing development, transport and boosting skills and education across the 3,214 square miles of York and North Yorkshire, the elected mayor also takes on the role and functions of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner across the area.

Elected mayor: ❚ David Skaith Labour & Cooperative

York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority website.

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire
Covers the county of North Yorkshire and City of York. This role is being transferred to the new elected mayor of York and North Yorkshire in 2024.

Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner North Yorkshire website.

Parliamentary constituency

Scarborough and Whitby
Elected MP: ❚ Alison Hume Labour

National government region

Yorkshire and the Humber

Ceremonial county

North Yorkshire

Historic

Scarborough district was one of seven large authorities abolished in 2023 as they were merged into a new North Yorkshire unitary authorityBefore 1974: Within the North Riding of Yorkshire.
1974 - 2023: In Scarborough district of new County of North Yorkshire.
2023: Scarborough district and the County of North Yorkshire were abolished as a new unitary authority of North Yorkshire was formed covering the county area and the seven large district authorities within it, including Scarborough district.

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