Filey Bay looking north towards Carr Naze point and Filey Brigg

(Photo: Ellie Doyle)

Filey is a small, unspoilt fishing town with a wide appeal and situated in a delightful part of the Yorkshire coast. The town is steeped in history and has earned its living from the sea for centuries. For many years this historic town by the sea  with its  beautiful gardens, golden sands and superb views which are second to none has attracted many visitors who return time after time.

With a unique natural environment and surrounding countryside, it has an established tourism market and a close proximity to the the North York Moors National Park.  Because of this, it is well placed for the visitor to use Filey as a base for exploring the wider assets of the Yorkshire area that is rich in natural life and culture.

Filey Bay offers opportunities for sailing and sea angling  and there is a thriving private sailing club located just to the north of the town with easy access from the beach. In addition to this, Filey offers the sub aqua enthusiast opportunities for undertaking some challenging dives off the Brigg and from boats launched from the shore.

For the less active, attractive gardens are on hand to the South of the town and the spacious Country Park to the North overlooks the Bay. At the Country Park there is an opportunity to sit in the sunshine and take in the spectacular views and for the more adventurous, there are country walks around the locality.

Filey is protected to the north by a low lying ridge of rocks called Filey Brigg and from the Brigg,  the sands sweep to the south, terminated by the spectacular chalk cliffs of Speeton and Bempton. Apart from being an attractive feature and "trademark" of Filey , the Brigg offers an interesting natural environment that supports a wide range of maritime life and is a favourite of families who indulge the rock pools.

There is a rich maritime history associated with the town with its fishing cobles whose design harks back to the Viking period and a rich heritage particularly associated with maritime subjects that have attracted international recognition.  The Lifeboat station that has been in place since 1804 and the famous battle between the American  John Paul Jones and the Royal Navy took place within the Bay in 1779. Filey is also the centre of the Filey Bay John Paul Jones Heritage Coast and is the official southern end of the Cleveland Way.

Filey's coast offers  a diverse variety of static and migratory bird life and marine life and is regularly visited by Naturalists and Ornithologists at all times of the year, a landscape rich in geological and archaeological features, it even has its own dinosaur coast as skeletons of plesiosaurs have been found in the rich deposits of the Speeton clay to the south of the Bay.  A picturesque 12th century Norman Church is located to the north of the town and a compact museum is situated in Queen Street, which at one time was the centre of the local fishing community.

Served by good rail links and access to all major trunk roads, Filey is easily accessible and is a short ride away from the equally spectacular North York Moors National Park.  With the highest concentration of available bed spaces in the area, the town caters for the short breaks and the growth in the high quality niche tourism markets based upon the historical, environmental and heritage assets to the locality.  Therefore the town is well situated on the spectacular rugged Yorkshire Coast for the visitor to provide an ideal base for exploration of the Minster and Cathedrals of the historic cities of Beverly and York and the fishing picturesque communities of Whitby, Staithes and Robin Hoods Bay.

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