An errand takes GEORGE WILKINSON to Scarborough, so he fits in a quick and inspiration coastal walk at Burniston.

SCARBOROUGH was our destination, to deliver the mother-in-law to the hospital to have her eyesight improved.

My navigator said “we might as well kill two birds with one stone” and that I could do a short coastal walk, so I was dropped off at Burniston, just north. Burniston is on a bus route.

Soon domesticity was far and forgotten with the pale gold of the wheat and barley, and the goldfinches on the lane and yellowhammers on the fields. The lane, named Rocks and then Field Lane, leads from Burniston to finish near the cliffs at a tiny dog walkers’ car park.

The air was tangy, the breeze barely brushed the sea, the horizon was sharp, and the cliffs are nice and high and steep. ‘Dangerous’ warns a red municipal sign, but this the Cleveland Way and well-trod.

A man came by with a huge rucksack and umbrella, headed for Saltburn; a woman had nothing but her greyhounds. Gulls congregated, resting in eddies by pointed rocks, and a billion thistle seeds flew off to Europe.

Seabirds have flown away or are quiet with the close of the breeding season, but seaside plants don’t show the high summer dip, that drop in colour also common in gardens.

And here, for a good length of the cliff top, there is a six-metre wide strip where they are encouraged. So blues, purples, yellows and white were in abundance. This strip is also very practical; the parks authority can shift the path if it’s threatened by cliff fall.

Not so good is concern about the Government’s long-term commitment to the All England Coast Path.

Although the whole route is a treat for the senses, there is a hillock with a view bench and by then Scarborough, the onetime “Queen of the North” is clear, notably the block shape of the castle out on a promontory and the pastel line of a grand terrace.

I had a nice chat with a Harrogate rambler about a group of buildings we were passing. They look like a farmstead of old and new barns, meshed and settled, snuggled in the low rolls of the otherwise harsh environment of the hinterland. Good looking they are and actually a sewage works.

Eventually my thoughts turned to my day’s duties and I pressed on along the cliffs which sweep out splendidly to a point and then sweep back in again to Scalby Mills.

This is the last peace before Scarborough turns lively at the white pyramids of the Sea Life Centre, and here I sat by the white walls of the Old Scalby Mills inn, supping the pint, watching the walkers, the gulls, the holiday makers on the North Bay sands.

Soon enough my mother-in-law turned up, doubtless with the restored gimlet eye of the aforementioned bird. And that’s got to be good.


Directions

When in doubt look at the map. Check your position at each point. Keep straight on unless otherwise directed.

1. From Post Office, cross road to walled path (knee-high sign) by drive, 100 yards, fork left to hedged path (homemade sign).

2. Right at junction after last house and by Pricky Beck, footbridge, into Pricky Beck Community Wildlife Site. Gate/steps by bridge and near info board.

3. Left to Rocks Lane.

4. At car park, fork right to field-edge path (fingerpost).

5. Ignore path on left, path around nab, steps down, bridge over Scalby Beck.


Fact file

Distance: Three miles, linear.

General location: Coast.

Start: Burniston.

Right of way: Public.

Dogs: Legal.

Date walked: July, 2010.

Road route: A64 from York.

Car parking: Scarborough.

Lavatories: Scarborough.

Refreshments: The Three Jolly Sailors and the Oak Wheel inns at Burniston. Everything at Scarborough.

Tourist and public transport information: Scarborough TIC 01723 373333.

Map: Drawn from OS Explorer 301 Scarborough.

Terrain: Cliff edge.

Difficulty: Quite easy.

Please observe the Country Code and park sensibly. While every effort is made to provide accurate information, walkers set out at their own risk.

View a map of the Burniston country walk>>