Parkdean, Skipsea Circular Walk
- Michael Palmer
- Jun 8, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Parkdean, Skipsea Circular Walk – 3.68 Easy Miles in East Yorkshire
If you're staying around Skipsea or simply looking for an easy walk close to the East Yorkshire coast, our 3.68-mile Parkdean, Skipsea Circular Walk is a lovely little route through the surrounding countryside.
Lyn and I personally walked, photographed and GPS recorded this route for The White Shire.
We rate the walk as easy.
At under four miles, it's one of our shorter Yorkshire walks and a good choice when we fancy getting outside without committing ourselves to a full day.
What surprised us was just how much history surrounds this seemingly quiet part of East Yorkshire. There's evidence of people living here thousands of years ago, alongside the remains of one of Yorkshire's early Norman castles.
Parkdean, Skipsea Circular Walk at a Glance
Distance: 3.68 miles
Route type: Circular
Difficulty: Easy – based on our experience
Location: Skipsea
County: East Riding of Yorkshire
Nearby: Bridlington, Hornsea and Driffield
Terrain: Countryside paths, tracks and rural sections
Highlights: Skipsea countryside, local history and Skipsea Castle
Walked and photographed by: Michael and Lyn Palmer, The White Shire
Our 3.68-Mile Skipsea Walk
Lyn and I found this to be a straightforward and enjoyable countryside walk.
At 3.68 miles, the distance is very manageable, and we didn't find anything about the route particularly demanding.
If you're staying at Parkdean Resorts nearby, it's also a handy way of getting away from the holiday park for a couple of hours and exploring some of the surrounding East Yorkshire countryside on foot.
But you certainly don't need to be staying there to enjoy the walk.
For us, it's another example of a relatively ordinary-looking Yorkshire landscape becoming considerably more interesting once we start exploring it.
Exploring the Countryside Around Skipsea
Skipsea sits close to the East Yorkshire coast, between Bridlington and Hornsea.
The surrounding landscape is predominantly agricultural, giving us a very different walk from the dramatic coastal paths found only a relatively short distance away.
We're walking through fields, along tracks and across the sort of quiet rural landscape that makes up a huge amount of the real Yorkshire.
It isn't dramatic.
It doesn't need to be.
Sometimes we simply want a few enjoyable miles through the countryside.
And Skipsea gives us exactly that.
Skipsea Castle and an Unexpected Piece of History
One of the most interesting places nearby is Skipsea Castle.
There's very little stonework to see today, but the huge earthworks have a remarkable story.
For many years, the enormous mound was believed to have been constructed by the Normans as the motte for their castle.
Research has since shown that it's much older.
English Heritage says the mound dates back approximately 2,500 years to the Iron Age and may originally have been a burial mound. The Normans later adapted it when constructing their castle.
That means we're looking at a landscape used by people long before the Norman Conquest.
The Normans Arrive at Skipsea
Following the Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror created the Lordship of Holderness and granted it to Drogo de la Beauvrière.
Around 1086, Drogo established Skipsea Castle as his principal residence and administrative centre.
Rather than starting entirely from scratch, the Normans made use of the enormous prehistoric mound already standing here.
We find things like this fascinating.
Without knowing the story, it's quite easy to walk through the area without giving the earthworks much thought.
Once we understand that people have been using this landscape for thousands of years, we start looking at it very differently.
A Landscape That Once Looked Very Different
The countryside around Skipsea hasn't always looked like it does today.
During the medieval period, marshy ground and water played an important role in the landscape around the castle.
A dam helped create Skipsea Mere, a shallow lake that added to the castle's defences while also providing fish and contributing to what must have been an impressive setting.
Today, we're walking through agricultural countryside.
It's quite difficult to imagine a medieval castle overlooking water and marshland.
That's one of the things we enjoy about researching our walks for The White Shire – discovering how much the Yorkshire landscape has changed.
Why We Rate the Skipsea Walk Easy
Our difficulty ratings are based on how Lyn and I actually experienced each route.
We rate this walk as easy.
At 3.68 miles, it's relatively short, and we didn't encounter anything that made us consider moving it into our moderate category.
That doesn't mean we'd go completely unprepared.
We're still walking through countryside, and natural paths can become wet or muddy following prolonged rain.
Sensible footwear is always worthwhile.
But compared with some of our hillier, longer or muddier Yorkshire walks, Skipsea sits comfortably in our easy category.
Walking Through Working Countryside
Much of the countryside around Skipsea is agricultural.
The fields and tracks we're enjoying aren't simply scenery – they're part of somebody's working environment.
We always try to remember that.
We stick to public rights of way, respect crops and livestock, keep dogs under appropriate control and leave gates as we find them.
It's a small thing, but it's important if we want Yorkshire's countryside to remain enjoyable and accessible.
Skipsea Castle Today
Skipsea Castle eventually declined in importance.
The Lords of Holderness increasingly used Burstwick as their administrative centre, and in 1221 Henry III ordered Skipsea Castle to be destroyed following a rebellion by William de Forz II.
Today, what survives are the impressive earthworks rather than the sort of stone ruins we might normally associate with a castle.
English Heritage currently lists Skipsea Castle as free to visit during reasonable daylight hours.
Access is across rough ground, livestock may be present and there's no formal visitor car park, so we'd check the latest information before making a special journey.
How Long is the Parkdean, Skipsea Circular Walk?
Our GPS-recorded Parkdean, Skipsea Circular Walk measures 3.68 miles.
That's the distance shown in our East Yorkshire walking collection on The White Shire.
How long you'll need depends on your walking pace and how often you stop.
Lyn and I aren't interested in completing our walks as quickly as possible.
We're taking photographs, looking around and seeing what we discover along the way.
At 3.68 miles, this is an ideal route when we want a shorter outing without spending most of the day walking.
Is the Skipsea Walk Suitable for Beginners?
Based on our experience, we'd consider this one of our more approachable East Yorkshire walks.
The distance is under four miles, and we've rated it easy.
If you're reasonably comfortable walking a few miles through normal countryside, we think it's a good option.
Recent weather is worth considering.
Even easy field paths can become more awkward when they're muddy, so we'd always choose footwear appropriate for the conditions.
More Than Just the Yorkshire Coast
One reason we want more walks around this part of Yorkshire on The White Shire is that visitors can easily concentrate entirely on the coast.
And the East Yorkshire coast is fantastic.
But travel a short distance inland and there's another Yorkshire waiting to be explored.
There are villages, farmland, historic churches, old railway lines and landscapes containing traces of communities stretching back thousands of years.
Skipsea is a perfect example.
The sea isn't far away, but our walk shows us another side of the area.
More East Yorkshire Walks
We're steadily building a collection of walks that shows just how varied East Yorkshire can be.
We've explored the rolling chalk countryside around Huggate and Welton Wold.
We've walked through the flatter agricultural landscape around Holme-on-Spalding-Moor.
And here at Skipsea we're exploring countryside close to the coast with a story stretching from the Iron Age through to the Norman period.
That's exactly how we want The White Shire to work.
Find one walk you fancy, then hopefully discover somewhere completely different for the following weekend.
Or browse our growing collection from across the county.
Discovering the Real Yorkshire
Skipsea fits perfectly with the direction we're taking The White Shire.
This isn't about telling people to visit the same ten Yorkshire attractions that appear on every tourism website.
We're interested in what sits between those places.
Here, we've got a relatively simple 3.68-mile countryside walk.
But look a little closer and we discover an enormous earthwork dating back around 2,500 years.
We find the remains of a Norman castle.
We discover that the surrounding agricultural landscape once included marshes and a large shallow lake.
Suddenly, our little walk has become much more interesting.
That's what we mean by discovering the real Yorkshire.
The history is often still there.
We just need to put our boots on and go looking for it.
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.
Parkdean, Skipsea Circular Walk – Our Verdict
Our Parkdean, Skipsea Circular Walk measures 3.68 miles.
Lyn and I rate it as easy.
It's a straightforward and manageable countryside route, particularly handy if you're staying around Skipsea and fancy exploring beyond the coast.
For us, the surprise is the history.
What initially appears to be ordinary East Yorkshire countryside contains evidence of people using this landscape thousands of years ago, followed centuries later by the arrival of the Normans and the construction of Skipsea Castle.
It's another reminder of why we enjoy exploring Yorkshire on foot.
Sometimes the most interesting stories aren't at the famous attractions.
They're sitting quietly in the landscape waiting for us to discover them.
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk. 
Parkdean circular walk.
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