A big sign for the Cinder Track

My blog posts serve a number of purposes. If you could be bothered to look back over them you'd find some that are slightly self indulgent bits of philosophical whimsy (which I hope are grounded in a reasonable version of reality), others are on the more solid ground of basic science and yet more are there to make some political point, sometimes global but often extremely local. The key local themes have at their heart the promotion of everyday physical activity (walking and cycling) and the benefits that this can bring not only to individuals but also to the community as a whole. In particular I've been inordinately keen to encourage the development of the old railway line from Scarborough to Whitby (the Cinder Track) as a high value route for walkers and cyclists.

During the what now seem halcyon days of the last Labour Government, there was a lot more money around to invest in public space and we managed to make significant improvements to the track and a number of adjoining play spaces. At an even more practical level, with the help of the then Future Jobs Fund, we managed to sort out where all the Track's drains were and began to get them back into decent condition. With a house the main thing to look after is the roof, with the Track it's the drains. Along the way we also managed to get a number of big information boards in place; in Whitby, at Robin Hoods Bay, at Ravenscar and at Scalby. But we never managed to get one where the track starts in Scarborough.

Notice board at the start of the track in Whitby

At long last we've just about put together the funds to put a similar sign in Scarborough. Some of the money has come from funds given to local County Councillors to support local projects and some, still to be confirmed, from so called section 106 funding (where developers have to put into a fund to support local infrastructure). We've got a firm lined up to do the final design and manufacture, we're gathering a set of interesting photos, including some pictures of the old railway as it used to be near the site of the sign, but still need some bespoke words to go with them. My job is to come up with about 500 words as a first draft and this blog post is a way of obliging me to get on with it.

"You are standing in what was once the goods yard on the old Scarborough to Whitby railway. This ran for 80 years (until 1965) carrying passengers and goods up the coast to Robin Hoods Bay, Whitby and all stops in between. After closure it was bought by Scarborough Borough Council and became a route for walkers, cyclists and equestrians. Running up through the town's northern suburbs, it's only a couple of miles until you get into open countryside and just a few more until you're in the North York Moors National Park

The line was joined to the main Scarborough to York line by a tunnel under Falsgave Road and, after dropping off their passengers at the then Excursion Station on Londesborough Road, the empty carriages would pass through here on their way to be parked up in carriage sidings on what are now playing fields just north of Manor Road Cemetery.

It was called the Cinder Track by locals in Scarborough, simply because the track bed was made of cinders rather than the more usual crushed stone. Apart from short sections in Scalby, Ravenscar and Robin Hoods Bay, most of it runs along the route of the original line and in many places the surface is still made of cinders.

Four miles up the line in Burniston, the Track goes over the aptly named Rocks Lane. Go down this and after about a mile you come to a steep path leading down to the rocks at Crook Ness. This is also one of many places you can join the Cleveland Way which runs along the cliff tops.

A mile further up the Track and you'll find that the old station at Cloughton has become a popular stop for tea, cakes and other refreshments.

At this point the line begins to climb steadily towards the mid point at Ravenscar. On the way you could always stop off at The Hayburn Wyke Inn or take a short walk down through the woods to the rocky beach where the Hayburn Beck cascades into the North Sea.

As the Track winds its way up the coast, passing through rich woods and crossing numerous small streams, it emerges into open countryside with clear views out over the North Sea. This was the vantage point chosen for one of Britain's first radar stations. Although just a collection of concrete buildings, the views and the excellent information from the National Trust, makes it well worth a visit.

Go onto the platform of the old station at Ravenscar to find out about the town that never was, or continue along the road to rejoin the Track at the National Trust Centre overlooking Robin Hoods Bay. Keep going and you could drop down to the Youth Hostel at Boggle Hole or carry on over the next hill and down into Whitby.

Nowadays the Track is well used by locals as a walking and cycling route to school, to work, to the shops, or to play. Where will it take you?"

Ravenscar Radar Station (built 1941)

Looking back to Scarborough from the rocks at Crook Ness