Filey is a traditional
English seaside resort with a friendly atmosphere, offering
restful 'get away from it all' holidays. A fishing town on
the North East coast of England, Filey has enjoyed a reputation
of being a seaside resort since Victorian days. If you want
an active holiday, or just to quietly relax in peaceful surroundings,
Filey can meet your needs. A visit to Filey can suit all generations.
Families come back year after year to savour the town's charms.
Along with its magnificent 5-mile stretch of safe beach, Filey
offers: Surfing, Fishing, Walking, Yachting, Golf, Bird watching,
Gardens, Caravanning / Camping, Amusements, Gardens, Entertainment,
Historic Interests and Local Events |
The town is steeped
in history and has earned its living from the sea for centuries.
For many years, this traditional holiday resort with its
beautiful gardens, golden sands and superb views which are
second to none, has attracted many visitors who return time
after time.
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
cobbles whose design harks back to the Viking period and
the Lifeboat station that has been in place since 1804.
The famous battle between the American John Paul Jones and
the Royal Navy took place within the Bay in 1779 and Filey
is 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 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. |
Filey History
It is believed that
there has been a community here for over 1200 years and
that for a thousand years it was a remote small fishing
and farming village. That community was in and around the
area of what is today called Queen Street. Before 1850 the
present Queen Street was the only major street in Filey
with a fishing village extending on a series of terraces
down the side of the ravine to the seashore. The fishing
village dates from the 9th or 10th century. The NW end of
Queen Street and the area around the site of the present
museum appears to have developed away from the sea with
an agricultural village dating from around the 12th century.
In 1835 a "New Plan for New Filey" was created,
which led to Filey changing from a fishing and farming village
into a town. The railways reached Filey in 1846/1847. The
Seamer to Filey line opened in 1846, with the first train
running on 5th October 1846. The Filey to Bridlington line
opened in 1847, making a through route to Hull, and the
first trains ran on 20th October 1847. The ¾ mile
spur off the Scarborough to Hull line to the Butlins Holiday
Camp opened on 10th May 1947 and closed on 17th September
1977.
Much rapid development
in the early and mid 19th century took place to the south
with the creation of what became known as New Filey, with
the building of The Crescent, the growth of a residential
area with the subsequent opening of many shops. There were
two separate communities of Old and New Filey served with
its own series of shops. Although today the community is
one with the two areas being joined by the aptly named Union
Street, signs of the past can clearly be seen, especially
the old fishermen's cottages on Church Hill. |
Holiday Resort
Filey has enjoyed
a reputation of being a seaside resort since Victorian days.It
set about being a holiday resort in the 1850s, the railways
had arrived in 1846. By the 1890s it had a fashionable reputation
and gaining in popularity during the Edwardian period up
to the Second World War. After the war it continued its
popularity and prospered with visitors from the nearby Butlins
holiday camp. It suffered to some extent with the closure
of the camp in 1983 and to the general decline in the UK
holiday market from the early 1980s. Today it still has
a fine reputation as a holiday resort and to its credit
has remained unscarred by any commercialism on its foreshore. |
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