North Bay Promenade, Cross Lane and Green Lane

The route

Starting on Scarborough's North Bay promenade, this loop follows the seafront before turning inland through Cross Lane and Green Lane, threading through the fields and quiet lanes around Scalby before returning to the coast. The seafront is flat and fast, but the inland lanes around Scalby climb steadily — around 220m of ascent over the full 14.6km, more than the promenade start lets on.

Sea and countryside

The appeal here is the contrast: open sea and sky along the promenade, then a change of pace into the small fields and hedge-lined lanes typical of this stretch of the North Yorkshire coast. Neither half of the route is dramatic on its own, but together they make for a varied loop that doesn't outstay its welcome.

Underfoot

This is almost entirely surfaced path and quiet lane, so it's a good option when the moors inland are too wet or windswept to enjoy, or when you want a route where pace matters more than terrain. The promenade section can be busy with walkers and cyclists in summer, so expect to share the path.

Who it suits

The fully surfaced nature of this route makes it a strong option for tempo sessions, time trials, or simply a reliable loop when you want predictable underfoot conditions rather than the variability of trail terrain. It also works well as an easy recovery run the day after a harder effort inland.

Getting it right

The seafront section sits close to the water and has been affected by flood warnings during storm surges and high tides, so check conditions if the forecast looks rough before you set off. Away from the coast the lanes are quiet but do carry occasional farm traffic. None of this makes the route unsuitable in normal conditions - it just pays to glance at the tide times if a storm's forecast.