The Bay Hotel, Whitby

Located right at the very bottom of the long, steep hill through robin Hood’s Bay, this is a very popular seafront pub set across two floors. When we arrived there were loads of people stood around outside the pub in the small square opposite, and the unwelcome sight of a lengthy queue to get into the ground floor bar nearly put us off from visiting, but we spotted a staircase to the left of the building which led up to a much quieter first floor bar where we were able to get served straight away. There are two rooms upstairs, with the servery in the corner of the front room, sporting a nice curved dark wood counter and matching bar back. Windows to the front give decent sea views and look down over the square outside the front of the building. The room has wallpaper on most of the wall space and offers standard tables and chairs and a nice banquette at the far end. The back room felt a bit darker due to only having windows on the right-hand wall, but there’s plenty more seating back here, along with similar wallpaper on the walls, a white tile fireplace with blue flower motifs and plenty of seascape paintings around the entire room. High shelves house an eclectic collection of lanterns, bottles, model ships and the like. A door to the right leads out to a small seafront balcony with great views of the bay and a few old picnic tables to sit at. Quiet ‘60’s tunes played away in the background throughout our visit and a few more punters cottoned on to the existence of a second bar, as the place had become quite crowded by the time we left. The pub is the end point of Alfred Wainwright’s Coast to Coast walk, so it was fitting that they had Thwaites Wainwright on cask alongside Theakston Best Bitter and Lightfoot, and Adnams Ghost Ship. A friendly, if somewhat overworked, barman served up a pint of the Lightfoot, which was in decent shape but isn’t all that interesting a beer. This place is like tourist catnip, so if you’re looking for a quiet, rural pub to settle down in after a long walk, you’d be best advised to look elsewhere. However, if you can put up with the crowds, you’ll be rewarded with some well-kept beer in a pleasant old pub that boasts some pretty unbeatable views.

Gorgeous location and very good beer. I came during the Covid Lockdowns (2021 Style) when you have to sit outside. A strange system in place where you queue to order your beer at a hatch on the main entrance, pay and then they are delivered to your table. Slightly odd but fine when you get your head around it. Theakstons Best and Adnams Ghost Ship on - both in great condition but unfortunately stuffed in plastic glasses. Look forward to returning in normal times, when I have a thirst on from completing the Coast to Coast walk!

Stunning views over Robin Hoods bay. This is well worth a visit. 4 beers on - 2 from Theakstons, Wainwrights and Leeds pale. I went for the pale and it was excellent.