The Cinder Track from Whitby to Robin Hood's Bay

The Cinder Track is the old Scarborough and Whitby Railway, opened in 1885 and closed in 1965. From the harbour car park by Whitby station, town streets climb for 900 m to the start of the track. It crosses the Esk on the 13 brick arches of Larpool Viaduct, climbs past Stainsacre to a summit at Hawsker, crosses the A171 at a signalled crossing and then runs down the coast, with the sea below, to the old station at Robin Hood's Bay.

It is 20.9 km (13.0 miles) there and back with 171 m of climbing; allow about 1½ hours of riding. The grade is Easy. There are no steep hills, but there is a long, steady climb to Hawsker in each direction.

As its name says, the surface is cinder and stone, with tarmac near Whitby: firm in places, rough, rutted and muddy in others. It is a ride for hybrids, gravel bikes and mountain bikes rather than road bikes, and children on proper bikes will manage it better than a trailer will.

The track is traffic-free apart from the streets in Whitby and the last few metres to the station yard at Robin Hood's Bay, now a car park. Whitby has a railway station. Check before relying on the hire centre in the old station at Hawsker, which was closed when we looked.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.