Ravens Route Day 7 – Whitby to Ravenscar and Beyond

24 June 2018 Andy

Ravens Route Day 7 was the last day of our Ravens Route cycle tour. It was a fine day in Whitby as we gathered outside The George Hotel.

To Ravenscar

We began by joining NCN Route 1 (we would follow this all day) and heading along the River Esk estuary and crossing over the bridge.

A little further on, we climbed up Larpool Lane.

We joined the Scarborough to Whitby Cinder Track.

TheTrack follows the old railway line from Scarborough to Whitby that was in use from 1885 to 1965. Unusually, the track ballast is made from cinders rather than crushed stone, and hence its name.

To say the track is of mixed quality is perhaps an understatement. Some sections are fine, but there are one or two sections where you are reduced to cycling along the verges.

The views along the coastline, however, are fabulous.

After a few miles, we reached the edge of Robins Hood Bay. Our Wainwright Coast-toCoast tour had finished here.

We, however, had a few more miles to cycle.

The path is a steady climb up to Ravenscar.

After eleven miles, we arrived in Ravenscar. This was the official end of our coast-to-coast route.

We still had a few more miles to cycle but had arrived early enough to enjoy a cup of tea at the Ravenscar Tea Rooms.

Offical photo upon completion of the Ravenglass to Ravenscar Coast-to-Coast

On to Scarborough

After our tea break, we rejoined the Cinder Track and cycled on towards Scarborough.

Whereas, the journey to Ravenscar had been a steady climb, the section to Scarborough was steadily downhill.

We passed through Burniston.

Eventually, we reached Scalby and the outskirts of Scarborough.

NCN Route 1 took us into the heart of Scarborough.

Finally, we arrived at Scarborough Rail Station. This was the end of our cycling journey, and it was time to go our separate ways.

Some of us, however, still had a few hours to kill before our train journey home. So we parked the bicycles and took the opportunity to grab lunch at the Methodist Church cafe across the road from the railway station.