The temperatures are sub-tropical, the beating sun and bright blue skies exaggerating the white cottages topped off with orange pan-tile rooves.
Pops of colour poke out of yards, gardens and baskets with the sweet fragrance of the flowers mingling with the faint smell of seaweed and salty air.
Nestled in the cliffs over-looking the sea – accessed only by winding lanes, cobbled paths and steps – the quaint village setting sounds very much like a timeless Mediterranean back drop.
However, it is a Jurassic stetch of coastline in an old fishing village in Yorkshire.
Runswick Bay is a picture postcard location, still popular for fishing, as it always has been, and with views of the sea from almost every house here, there is little wonder it is a haven for residents and holiday-makers.
Aside from the busyness of the beach and the water activity, it is well worth taking a few steps back and taking a wander through the maze of alleys, hidden snickets and cut throughs to take a closer look at the beautiful cottage gardens.
This time of year is the best time to see the carefully curated and maintained pink, purple, yellow, blue, white and burgundy blooms which fill the gardens and yards of the houses – no two of which are the same.
The village is famous for having what is probably the only remaining thatched cottage on the Yorkshire coast and it is known that many houses in Runswick Bay date back to the late 1600s.
In 1682, a landslide sent many homes into the sea – sparing the thatched cottage. In the following years they were re-built, creating the village we see today.
