- Robin Hood's Bay -

Robin Hood’s Bay is a small fishing village located within the North York Moors National Park, 5 miles south of Whitby and 15 miles north of Scarborough on the coast of North Yorkshire, England. Bay Town, its local name, is in the ancient chapelry of Fylingdales in the wapentake of Whitby Strand! During the 18th century smuggling was pretty common in the UK due to the heavy taxes the government imposed onto goods due to the huge expansion in trade and wars with France. To avoid the tax smuggling became pretty popular and you could find a lot of goods on the black market such as tea, silk and tobacco. Robin Hood’s bay became the perfect hub for smuggling due to it’s maze of narrow streets. “Smuggled goods were distributed via the local inns and passed up through the village along a network of secret subterranean passageways and tunnels. It was said that a bale of silk could travel to the top without leaving the houses.” I came across this amazing article by northyorkmoors.org that tells you more about the smugglers town’s history and even gives you a smugglers route you can follow!

We went to Robin Hood’s Bay on a Day trip from York. We also stopped by the Whitby Castle on the way to Robin Hoods bay and Castle Howard on our way home to York. All three are easy to do in one day. I would recommend driving if you can.

-xot

If you have any questions about travel on any of the places I’ve visited, feel free to reach out

terilynsteverson@gmail.com