I am assuming that the name Sandsend quite literally means “end of the sands” because it is here where the long beach which stretches all the way from Whitby ENDS, and we are back on the cliffs again.

After an excellent breakfast in the Wits End Cafe we head up the road and turn right at the top onto the cliff walk.

At the top I look back and down onto another part of the village and am struck by the quiet harmony of how the houses have been built, grouped around a green and skirted by a “babbling brook”. It looks like the kind of place where you would know all your neighbours (for better or worse of course).

The path is clearly marked, the Cleveland Way being part of the England Coast Path.

About half a mile up the track and off to the right, I notice that the cliff vegetation has partly disappeared and been replaced with a bare almost volcanic landscape. This grey metallic surface is apparently an end result of the extraction of alum, which is a crystal used in the dyeing industry. Without alum, the natural dyes used at the time would quickly fade after washing. Up until the early 1600s alum was imported from Italy but when Henry VIII fell out with the Pope it became a matter of urgency to find a source of alum at home.

The path now leads us into a patch of woodland and takes us over stones and up very steep wooden steps.

We emerge onto the cliff top again, grateful for the wide grassy path. At one point we see a young girl in the distance bouncing along towards us with a large rucksack on her back and a dog at her side. We stop to chat and her lovely young collie (maybe a mix of collie and retriever) stands and vibrates, waiting for a signal to move on. She is from Holland and is full of praises for the Yorkshire coastline. Before we part, she warns us of a section of the path ahead which involves some very slippery rocks down to the beach at Runswick Bay. I take it with a pinch of salt until we meet another couple of our age who are also keen to pass on advice.

The path now bends to the left past some more disused alum quarries – they really have damaged the landscape.

…………………until we reach a sign which directs us around a farmyard and past a massive combine harvester which is trundling around a huge field. Laid out in neat rows on the field are the stems and leaves that have been left after the harvesting of the crop. As we stand and stare these rows are being eaten up by the combine and by some miraculous internal process, whipped into large circular bales and then excreted out the end of the machine. They will then be used for bedding and animal feed. Impressive….

Soon we can see Runswick Bay in the distance and I feel a small twinge of worry about those damn rocks.

The descent starts easily enough over a wooden bridge………………………but I don’t really like what I see when I look over the side.

But this is the one to worry about………………………………..although the photo does not really convey the precariousness of the descent – it makes it look much wider than it is in reality.

Damian goes first and snaps out instructions but I decide not to listen and just test each step I make. The rocks are in fact very slippery but I have good tread on my boots and there is a rickety handrail to cling onto. And here I am, all in one piece.

……………….gathering pretty pebbles for my granddaughter.

At the end of the beach we climb up to the village past the Lifeboat Station, intent on a cup of coffee and a cake. Unfortunately, the beach cafe is closed and we find no suitable venue for our afternoon snack until we have climbed endless flights of steps up to join the main road..

Here we find a pub – not ideal unless it’s the end of the walk but they do have what we need.

We now have another four miles to go along the cliff tops before reaching Staithes Harbour.

It’s easy walking along the path and we make good progress – there are a few more people out walking now.

A while later the path joins a minor road at a place called Port Mulgrave but the signpost leads us away, back onto the cliffs again.

And soon we arrive at Staithes Harbour and the pub, which is very busy……………………..

We stop for a pint and confirm the bus times – unfortunately the bus stop is right at the top of the village on the main road. That last leg is not fun. Back in Sandsend our car waits patiently.

Distance: 10 miles