Things to Do in Scarborough
Prices, opening hours, best times to visit and the stuff nobody tells you, everything you need for a first trip to Scarborough, England, plus one pigeon's opinions on all of it.
Scarborough can fairly claim to be the world's first seaside resort, all because a woman noticed some oddly stained water running down a cliff in 1626, decades before anyone thought sea-bathing itself was a good idea. This is the proper guide to things to do in Scarborough, what things actually cost, when to go, and which bits are worth your time. Four main stops below, plus a quiz at the bottom to see if you were paying attention.
Scarborough Spa & Britain's First Seaside Resort
I asked in the quiz which "first" Scarborough is often credited with, and it's being Britain's first seaside resort, thanks to Mrs Thomasin Farrer's discovery of mineral springs in 1626, exactly as the quiz hint described. Visitors began flocking to "take the waters" for their supposed health benefits decades before sea-bathing itself became fashionable, and the first bathing machines appeared here in 1735, genuinely ahead of Bath or Brighton in the seaside-resort business.
Scarborough Spa, the grand Victorian complex built around the original spring, still stands today, home to concerts and events in its ornate rooms, and a small well set into the wall on the north side marks the exact spot where the mineral water was first discovered, reddish-brown staining and all.
Address South Bay, Scarborough YO11 2HD
Anne Bronte's Grave
The answer to the second quiz question: Anne Bronte, author of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, died in Scarborough in 1849 and is buried in St Mary's churchyard, the only Bronte sibling not buried in Haworth, exactly as the quiz hint described. She travelled to Scarborough hoping the sea air might help her failing health, tuberculosis, the same illness that had already claimed her sister Emily and brother Branwell within the same year, but died just days after arriving, aged only 29.
St Mary's Church itself sits right beside Scarborough Castle on the headland, free to visit, and her grave, marked with a simple headstone, remains a genuine point of literary pilgrimage for Bronte readers passing through.
Address Castle Road, Scarborough YO11 1TU
Scarborough Castle
I asked in the quiz what kind of Roman structure originally stood on Scarborough Castle's headland, and it's a signal station, built in the 4th century to relay warnings of seaborne raids along the Yorkshire coast exactly as the quiz hint described, one of several such stations along this stretch of coastline. The headland's history runs even deeper, a Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement predates the Romans by centuries, and the medieval stone castle, developed in the 12th century under Henry II, twice withstood sieges during the Civil War.
The site is genuinely huge, a grassy headland bigger than 12 football pitches, with views over both the North and South Bay from the same spot, a rare vantage point nowhere else in town quite matches.
Hours 10am-5pm daily, last entry 4.30pm
Address Castle Road, Scarborough YO11 1HY
Official site english-heritage.org.uk/scarborough-castle
The Grand Hotel & the Seafront
Completed in 1867, the Grand Hotel was the largest hotel and largest brick building in Europe when it opened, designed around a genuinely elaborate time theme, four towers for the seasons, 12 floors for the months, 52 chimneys for the weeks, and originally 365 bedrooms for the days of the year. Winston Churchill and the Beatles have both stayed there, and even if you're not booking a room, the exterior alone, dominating St Nicholas Cliff, is worth a look.
Peasholm Park, a short walk along the North Bay, is a free, oriental-themed park with a Chinese pagoda, a lake for rowing boats and genuinely pleasant landscaped grounds, a good, quiet break from the busier seafront.
Best time to visit Scarborough
May to September gives the most reliable weather for the beaches and Peasholm Park, and it's when Scarborough Castle keeps its fullest opening hours. St Mary's Church, Anne Bronte's grave and the Grand Hotel's exterior all work fine year-round, so a wet or wintry visit doesn't rule out a good trip.
Getting around Scarborough
Scarborough's headland, home to the Castle and St Mary's Church, sits between the North and South Bay, both walkable from the town centre. The Spa complex and the Grand Hotel are on the South Bay side, while Peasholm Park sits along the North Bay. Scarborough railway station is a short walk from the town centre and South Bay.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Scarborough worth visiting?
- Yes, particularly for its genuine claim to being Britain's first seaside resort, a headland with 3,000 years of layered history at the Castle, and a real literary pilgrimage site at Anne Bronte's grave.
- How many days do you need in Scarborough?
- A day covers the Castle, St Mary's Church and the seafront comfortably. Add a second day for Peasholm Park and a slower exploration of both bays without rushing.
- Is Scarborough expensive?
- Moderate. Scarborough Castle is the main paid attraction; St Mary's churchyard, the Spa exterior, the Grand Hotel exterior and Peasholm Park all cost nothing.
- What is Scarborough famous for?
- Being credited as Britain's first seaside resort, following the 1626 discovery of mineral springs; Anne Bronte, buried in St Mary's churchyard; and Scarborough Castle, standing on a headland fortified since Roman times.
That's everything I've got.
A note before you plan around this: prices, opening hours, booking requirements and admission details in this guide were correct at the time of writing, but venues change these often and sometimes without notice. Always check directly with the attraction or its official website before you travel or build a schedule around a specific time or price.
Before travelling to any destination featured on this site, please also check your government's latest travel advice, as safety situations, entry requirements and travel warnings can change.
