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The Yorkshire Coast is one of the finest stretches of coastline in the country, with long sandy beaches, tall cliffs, beautiful fishing villages, and some of the best seaside resorts anywhere. Whether you're looking for fossils or exploring smugglers' coves, climbing the cliffs  or searching out caves, you'll find them all along the Yorkshire coast.

There's a wide range of types of resort - from "small but perfect" fishing villages like Robin Hood's Bay, to family-oriented large resorts such as Scarborough. In between there are a host of other delightful seaside towns and villages, including Bridlington, Filey, Staithes, and the traditional town of Whitby watched over by the dramatic ruins of its ancient abbey.

Whitby Hotels          Scarborough Bed and Breakfast

With so many beautiful long sandy beaches, a bucket and spade is essential for any family holiday, and you can still find donkey rides, candy-floss and Punch & Judy shows.

This part of Britain's coastline has more than its share of heritage too - Captain Cook spent much of his youth in and around Whitby, where he learned the craft which would lead him on his great adventures sailing around the world. And Bram Stoker was inspired by the haunting beauty of the ruins of Whitby Abbey to write Dracula.

Scarborough Castle makes its imposing presence felt on the headland which divides the North Bay from the South Bay.

Bed and Breakfast Whitby          Scarborough Hotels

The heritage goes back much further than medieval times though, as the Yorkshire coast is a great place for finding fossils - from trilobites to ichthyosaurs, from ammonites to plesiosaurs, from plants to gastropods, from fishes to reptiles. They've all been found on Yorkshire's own "Jurassic Coast", as well as the famed Whitby jet.

An easy way to find fossils is by visiting one of the museums that can be found in almost every resort -small or large. And the story of Yorkshire's heritage and culture can be further explored by visiting some of the historic houses, country homes, country parks, traditional Victorian parks, theatres, cinemas, or art galleries.

The Yorkshire coastline includes Sites of Special Scientific Interest, as well bird and nature reserves. At RSPB Bempton Cliffs you may well see puffins emerging from their burrows in the spring, flying off to sea to catch sandeels and returning home with five, six, or more dangling from their characteristically-striped beaks, or (depending on the season) short-eared owls hunting over the grassland, kittiwakes nesting, or gannets diving into the sea with their wings tightly closed.

And don't forget to bring walking boots too if you wish to explore the miles of coastline on the clearly-marked coastal footpaths, or any of the famous trails which strike inland from the coast.

Interesting fact: The length of the North Yorkshire coast varies enormously depending on how it is measured. A "smooth line" of the coast gives it a length of about 68 km, but if you follow the rocky high tide line using Ordnance Survey it is closer to 107 km.

For the latest Yorkshire Coast events, check the Hello Yorkshire blog.

Things to see and do:

Bridlington

Filey

Flamborough Head

Robin Hood's Bay

Runswick Bay

Sandsend

Scarborough

Staithes

Whitby

Bayle Museum, Bridlington

Bayside Pleasure Park, Bridlington

Beside The Seaside - The Bridlington Experience Museum

Birds Of Prey & Conservation Centre, East Ayton, Scarborough

Boyes Museum, Bridlington

Bretton Farm Visitor Centre, Scarborough

Bridlington Harbour Heritage Museum

Bridlington Priory

Burton Agnes Hall

Captain Cook Memorial Museum, Whitby

Church of St Stephen, Fylingdales

Cleveland Way

Country Park, Filey

Crescent Gardens, Filey

Dracula Museum, Whitby

Esk Valley Railway, Whitby

Farsyde Riding Centre

Filey Bird Garden & Animal Park

Filey Brigg

Filey Golf Club

Filey Museum

Flamborough Head

Flamborough Lighthouse

Fossil hunting on the beaches

Gasworx Skatepark, Bridlington

Great Yorkshire Bike Ride Cycle Route

Hispaniola sea cruise, Scarborough

Honey Park Farm, Scarborough

Hornsea Freeport, Hornsea

Hornsea Museum, Hornsea

Hunmanby Hall 9-Hole Golf

Kinderland, Scarborough

Little Hoppers Adventure World, Scarborough

Luna Park Funfair, Scarborough

MV Queensferry seal trips, Scarborough

North Bay Miniature Railway, Scarborough

North York Moors National Park

Old Coastguard Station

Old Penny Memories, Bridlington

Oliver's Mount Races, Scarborough

Peasholm Park (oriental themed park), Scarborough

Robin Hood's Bay Museum

Rock-pooling

Rotunda William Smith Museum of Geology

Royal Albert Park, Scarborough

RSPB Bempton Cliffs

Scarborough Art Gallery

Scarborough Castle

Scarborough Harbour

Scarborough Lighthouse

Scarborough Pleasure Steamers

Scarborough RNLI Lifeboat House

Scarborough Sealife and Marine Sanctuary

Sewerby Hall and Gardens

Shuttleworth Garden for the Blind, Scarborough

Southburn Archaelogical Museum, Driffield

Spa Theatre, Bridlington

Spa Theatre, Scarborough

Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

Swell Cinema

Terror Tower, Scarborough

The Bark Endeavour, Whitby

The Woodcraft Workshop

Trailways Cycle Hire, Hawkser, Whitby

Valley Gardens, Scarborough

Whitby Abbey

Whitby Harbour

Whitby Museum

Whitby Regatta

Whitby Wizard Science Museum