Boggle Hole


Useful Information

Location: Mill Beck, Fylingthorpe, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO22 4UQ.
A171 follow signs Boggle Hole/Youth Hostel. Parking lot at the end of the road, 5 minutes walk.
(54.4229333, -0.5297227)
Open: No restrictions.
[2023]
Fee: free.
[2023]
Classification: SpeleologyKarst cave
Light: bring torch
Dimension:  
Guided tours: self guided
Photography: allowed
Accessibility: no
Bibliography:  
Address: YHA Boggle Hole, Mill Beck, Fylingthorpe, Whitby, North Yorkshire, YO22 4UQ, Tel: +44-345-371-9504. E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
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History


Description

Boggle Hole is a small sea cave located at the coast of Yorkshire. A river named Mill Beck flowing into the sea was used to build a watermill. Later it became a notorious smugglers’ haunt, smugglers used to land in the cove and hide their contraband in the caves. The small cove has uniquely curved-out hollows, worn away by the action of the sea. The cave is rather unspectacular, but it is easy to access and has a nice legend.

A Boggle is the local northern dialect name for a hobgoblin. They are mischievous little people that were thought to live in caves along the coast or in remote corners of the Moors called hob holes. The people also believed that Boggles had healing powers, so they sometimes brought sick children to such holes in the hope that they would be cured.

The site is located along the "Cleveland Way" Long Distance Footpath, about a 1.8 km south of Robin Hood’s Bay. The clifftop path affords stunning views of Robin Hood’s Bay. The bay is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), where a range of fossils like ammonites can be found. The building of the mill is today a youth hostel.