Memory Of Runswick Bay

A Memory of Runswick Bay.

I was with a group of 8 friends who walked the Cleveland Way some years ago in June. Unfortunately, it was the wettest June for years! The plan that day was to walk from Runswick Bay to Whitby, some 8 miles. We had booked to stay at the Youth Hostel in Whitby for the night.
We walked in the pouring rain down onto the beach at Runswick Bay, only to encounter several deep channels of water, which ran from the cliffs all the way down to the water's edge. We paddled through three of them to reach the path which cuts from the beach up to the top of the cliff edge. However, the path had become an impassable waterfall!
We had a quick conference, decided that it was unsafe to walk any further that day and trudged back across the beach through the water channels. Another couple approached us and asked about the state of the path, as they were walking the same route. We advised them against it, but they were determined to try it, so we left them and walked up to the Runswick Bay Hotel.
Inside there was a gorgeous fire lit in the long rectangular bar, which was long enough for all of us to stand in line and steam ourselves dry - what bliss! We ordered coffees from the barman, which went down beautifully, followed by a stiff whisky. On chatting with the barman, he told us that he was a volunteer with the local Lifeboat crew and he was glad that we had had the sense to turn back, as they wouldn't have wanted to turn out to rescue us that day!
The view from the window looked across the bay and we watched, with some amusement, the couple we had spoken to trudging back from the beach. We resisted the urge to say "We told you so!" as they entered the bar.
We never completed the walk that day, but rang for a minibus to take us to the Youth Hostel in Whitby instead. Although we did walk the remainder of the Cleveland Way that week, by not walking this stretch we hadn't really completed it.
Several years later, our group had a lovely weekend in Whitby and caught the bus to Runswick Bay to finally walk what we had missed. Thankfully, the weather was much better and so was the path! Happy memories!

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