Filey Bay – Filey Loop

Michael Palmer
Apr 11, 2023
6 min read

Updated: 5 days ago

Filey Bay – Filey Loop Walk: 4.35 Easy Miles on the Yorkshire Coast

If you're looking for an easy Yorkshire coastal walk combining a traditional seaside town, a long sandy beach and some wonderful views across Filey Bay, our 4.35-mile Filey Loop is a lovely route.

Lyn and I personally walked, photographed and GPS recorded this route for The White Shire.

We rate the walk as easy.

At 4.35 miles, it's a manageable distance, and we didn't find the overall route particularly demanding.

Filey has a completely different atmosphere from some of Yorkshire's larger seaside resorts. There's still a strong feeling of a traditional coastal town here, and once we start walking, we've also got Filey Bay, the cliffs and Filey Brigg to explore.

Explore more East Yorkshire Walks on The White Shire

Filey Bay – Filey Loop at a Glance

Distance: 4.35 miles

Route type: Loop

Difficulty: Easy – based on our experience

Location: Filey

County: North Yorkshire

Area: Yorkshire Coast

Nearby: Scarborough, Hunmanby and Bridlington

Terrain: Seafront, paths, coastal sections and town walking

Highlights: Filey Bay, sandy beach, Filey Brigg, coastal views and Filey's seaside heritage

Walked and photographed by: Michael and Lyn Palmer, The White Shire

Our 4.35-Mile Filey Walk

Lyn and I found this to be a really enjoyable and approachable coastal walk.

At 4.35 miles, there's enough distance to feel like we've had a decent outing without turning it into a demanding day.

But the biggest attraction is simply where we're walking.

Filey Bay gives us a wonderful stretch of Yorkshire coastline, and there's something about walking beside the sea that makes even a relatively simple route feel special.

We can take our time, enjoy the views and explore Filey rather than concentrating solely on completing the mileage.

Exploring Filey Bay

Filey Bay is the defining feature of this walk.

The broad sweep of beach stretches away along the Yorkshire coast, with Filey Brigg marking its northern end.

For us, this is the sort of landscape where we naturally slow down.

There's always something changing.

The tide moves, the light across the water changes and seabirds appear along the shoreline.

And unlike some countryside walks where we're concentrating on finding the next path, here we've got the North Sea giving us a fairly obvious landmark.

Filey Brigg

Filey Brigg is one of the most distinctive features of the area.

It's a long, narrow headland projecting into the North Sea at the northern end of Filey Bay.

The landward section is known as Carr Naze, while the rocky projection extending into the sea is the Brigg itself.

National Trails describes Filey Brigg as particularly interesting for both geology and birdlife, with its limestone, grit and glacial deposits creating a distinctive coastal environment. (National Trail)

It's a landscape that feels very different depending on the weather and tide.

Discover more about Filey Brigg

Two National Trails Meet at Filey

There's something particularly special about Filey Brigg for walkers.

It marks the end of not one but two National Trails.

The Cleveland Way finishes here after travelling 109 miles from Helmsley through the North York Moors and along the Yorkshire coast. (GOV.UK)

The Yorkshire Wolds Way also finishes at Filey after travelling 79 miles from Hessle beside the Humber, through the rolling chalk landscape of the Yorkshire Wolds. (National Trail)

There's a stone sculpture at Filey Brigg marking the end of both routes. (National Trail)

We're only walking 4.35 miles today, which suddenly feels rather modest.

Why We Rate the Filey Loop Easy

Our difficulty ratings are based on how Lyn and I personally experienced each route.

We rate Filey as easy.

At 4.35 miles, the distance is manageable, and we didn't find the overall route particularly strenuous.

The official National Trails Filey Brigg circular is a little over four miles and is also graded easy, although that's a separate route from our own White Shire walk. (National Trail)

As always with coastal walking, conditions matter.

Wind, rain and wet surfaces can make the same route feel quite different, so we'd still wear footwear appropriate for the weather.

Filey's Roman Past

Filey's story goes back much further than its days as a seaside resort.

Archaeological discoveries at Carr Naze provide evidence of Roman activity, including a signal station.

The site was excavated in the 19th century after finds including Roman pottery, bones and charred material had been discovered around the area. (Filey)

We find details like this fascinating.

Today we're looking across a peaceful Yorkshire bay.

Around 1,600 years ago, people were apparently using this same headland to watch what was happening along the coast.

From Fishing Village to Seaside Resort

For much of its history, Filey was a relatively small fishing community.

That began changing considerably during the 19th century.

The railway arrived in 1846, making the town much easier for visitors to reach. Filey developed into a fashionable seaside resort, with The Crescent becoming one of its best-known architectural features. (Filey)

It's another pattern we've encountered around Yorkshire.

The arrival of the railway could completely transform a place.

Suddenly, people from growing industrial towns and cities could reach the coast much more easily.

Filey's future changed with them.

Walking Through Filey

We wouldn't want the history to overwhelm what is fundamentally a lovely coastal walk.

Filey itself is enjoyable to wander around.

There's the promenade, beach and traditional seaside atmosphere, and it's easy to extend our day beyond the actual walking route.

That's one of the advantages of a 4.35-mile circular.

We're not exhausted when we've finished.

We've still got time to explore the town, find something to eat or simply sit for a while looking across the bay.

Wildlife Around Filey Brigg

Filey Brigg is also particularly important for birdlife.

Its position extending into the North Sea makes it a useful place for spotting passing seabirds and waders.

National Trails highlights the Brigg as a haven for ornithologists, while the surrounding cliff-top fields and ponds create additional habitats. (National Trail)

We're certainly not expert birdwatchers.

But that's another advantage of exploring Yorkshire on foot.

We notice things we'd almost certainly miss if we simply arrived, took a photograph and drove away.

Is the Filey Loop Suitable for Beginners?

Based on our experience, we'd consider this one of our more approachable Yorkshire coastal routes.

The distance is 4.35 miles, and we've rated it easy.

If you're reasonably comfortable walking that sort of distance, we think it's a good option.

The official National Trails Filey Brigg route is similarly described as an easy walk offering beach, cliff-top and coastal scenery. (National Trail)

We'd still check the weather before setting off, particularly because exposed coastal sections can feel very different in strong winds.

More Yorkshire Walks

Filey adds another coastal route to our growing White Shire walking collection.

And it shows just how varied Yorkshire can be.

We've walked the rolling countryside around Huggate and Market Weighton.

We've explored the history hidden around Skipsea.

We've tackled muddy coastal paths around Staithes.

And now we've got the broad sandy sweep of Filey Bay.

That's exactly what we want The White Shire to offer.

Find one walk you like and hopefully discover somewhere completely different for the next weekend.

Explore more East Yorkshire Walks on The White Shire

Browse our wider collection of Yorkshire Walks

Discovering the Real Yorkshire

Filey is certainly not an unknown Yorkshire destination.

But we think there's still a difference between simply visiting Filey and exploring it on foot.

Once we're walking, we start noticing the landscape.

We discover Filey Brigg.

We learn about the Roman signal station.

We find the point where two of England's National Trails finish.

And we start understanding how a small fishing community developed into a Victorian seaside resort.

That's what The White Shire is increasingly about for us.

Not simply telling people where to go, but encouraging them to get out and discover more about the Yorkshire they're travelling through.

About Michael and Lyn

Michael and Lyn Palmer explore Yorkshire together on foot, personally walking, photographing and GPS recording the routes featured on The White Shire.

We're not professional hikers or historians.

We're simply a husband and wife who enjoy getting outside together, discovering interesting places and learning more about Yorkshire as we go.

Our difficulty ratings are based on how we personally experienced each route.

Filey Bay – Filey Loop: Our Verdict

Our Filey Bay – Filey Loop measures 4.35 miles.

Lyn and I rate it as easy.

For us, it's a lovely combination of traditional seaside Yorkshire and coastal walking.

We have Filey Bay, the beach, Filey Brigg and plenty of North Sea views, alongside a town with connections stretching from Roman coastal defences to Victorian tourism.

Filey Brigg also gives the route something particularly special because both the 109-mile Cleveland Way and 79-mile Yorkshire Wolds Way finish there. (GOV.UK)

Fortunately, we don't need to walk either of those distances today.

At 4.35 miles, this is a much easier way to enjoy a beautiful stretch of the Yorkshire coast.

Another piece of the real Yorkshire explored on foot.