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Route No. 219 - Saturday 2 June 2007
Train from Filey to Bempton,
then walk to Bempton RSPB reserve,
cliff path to Speeton, descend to the beach,
return to Filey along the beach - 15km
(check the tide times!) . . .
Map: OS Explorer
301 Scarborough, Bridlington & Flamborough Head at 1:25000
Route Map on 'Landranger' base
from OS Open Space service
Open this route in Google Earth
Tide
tables from the BBC wb site
Tide
tables via the Scarborough Borough Council web site
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Our train arriving at Filey station
The fare was £2.60, a few pence cheaper than it was when we did
this walk a few years ago. The journey took about 15 minutes and we
started walking from Bempton station at about 10.30.
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This morning we met a small group of friends at Filey station in time
to catch the 10.14 train to go two stops down the line to Bempton.
Leaving the train at Bempton
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Bempton church
Boats bringing visitors from Filey and Bridlington
to see the nesting colonies on Bempton Cliffs
We had an early coffee stop at the RSPB visitor centre and then made
out way to the various view points along the cliffs.
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We followed the road through Bempton village past the church and out
to the RSPB reserve on Bempton Cliffs.
A flock of twitchers at a view point at Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve
Bempton Cliffs looking towards Flamborough Head
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Bempton Cliffs looking towards Flamborough Head
Some of the kittywakes had chicks already and some were gathering mud
from a wet patch on the bank at the top of the cliff.
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At this time of year there are thousands of birds nesting on the cliffs.
There are gannets, guillimots, razorbills, kittywakes, fulmars and puffins,
although the puffins are just arriving.
Bempton Cliffs looking towards Filey
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Razor Bills roosting on Bempton Cliffs
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Kittywakes on their nests on Bempton Cliffs
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Gannets on Bempton Cliffs
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Gannets on Bempton Cliffs
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Cliff top path towards Filey from Bempton
As we left the reserve and headed for Speeton there was an occasional
glimpse down the cliff where every ledge was occupied by a nesting seabird.
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The meadows along the cliff top are left uncut and provide a habitat
for all kinds of small birds - you know, the small brown jobbies that
are so hard to identify!
Red Campion by the cliff top path at Bempton
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A razorbill and a kittywake on their nests at Bempton
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Ragged robin by the path at
Bempton
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Kidney Vetch - a plant that likes the seaside
There were all kinds of wild flowers, some we could identify and some
we just didn't know. After lunch we continued along the cliff top path
for a few hundred metres to map ref. TA 159750.
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We stopped by the trig point near Speeton for our lunch there was hardly
any view out towards Bridlington because of the sea mist known locally
as 'Sea Fret' that was sitting cold and damp all along that part of
the coast, whilst we basked on warm sunshine.
Lunch stop near Speeton
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Filey Bay from the cliff top near Speeton
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Path down an old land slip to the beach at Speeton
The path is at the bottom of a steep slope so great care is needed
to avoid being impaled on the barbs. At map ref. TA 153753 the path
crosses a stile to continue down to the beach across the old landslip
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The path took us down a steep field to the top edge of a huge old land
slip. The path followed the edge of the land slip for several hundred
metres with a barbed wire fence very close to the path.
Path down an old land slip to the beach at Speeton
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Path down an old land slip to the beach at Speeton
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Crossing Speeton sands for a paddle
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Walking along Reighton sands toward Filey
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All that remains of a shipwreck - the ship's boiler
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Remains of war time east coast defences eroding into the sea
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An ailing guillimot
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Once we were down to the beach I took my shoes and socks off to walk
in the water's edge for the remaining 5km back to Filey. It's a wonderful
beach and even on this hot sunny day at the end of the county's half-term
school holiday the beach did not seem crowded. As we walked back to
Filey the sea fret threatened to roll in over the beach but then just
evaporated and left us in the sunshine. When we reached Filey we stopped
in a cafe on the promenade for a coffee before returning to the station
to collect our cars to go home. The walk had been about 15km and had
taken us five and a half hours including a couple of breaks and quite
a bit of time peering over the cliffs at Bempton. I had checked the
tide times from the BBC
web site when planning this walk and low water today was around
11am. This month we were joined by two ladies who had not walked with
us before, Lynne and Dot. I hope you enjoyed the walk (and the company)
and maybe we'll see you next time?
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The promenade at Filey as we returned to the station
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