Best Places to Visit in East Yorkshire
Written by UK Hidden Gems Editorial
Updated 5 August 2026
The best places to visit in East Yorkshire are The Drinking Dinosaur, Selwicks Bay, Barmston Beach, Humber Bridge and Danes Dyke Beach.
East Yorkshire runs along a coast of white chalk headlands and soft, crumbling cliffs, with the great span of the Humber closing it to the south. Much of the finest ground gathers at Flamborough Head, where the sea has cut the chalk into stacks, arches, caves and blowholes: the sea arch known as the Drinking Dinosaur, the stack-ringed cove of Selwicks Bay below the lighthouse, and the hidden, wooded descent to Danes Dyke beach along its ancient earthwork.
South of Bridlington, the long open sands of Barmston run below the fastest-eroding cliffs in Europe. At the far end of the region, the Humber Bridge sweeps across the estuary between Hessle and Lincolnshire, with a country park at its foot.
The chalk cliffs of Flamborough are a noted seabird haunt, with gannets, puffins and kittiwakes crowding the ledges through the breeding season. Here are five places to visit across East Yorkshire.
The Drinking Dinosaur
Photo: David Dixon via Geograph.org.uk
The Drinking Dinosaur is a natural rock formation in the chalk cliffs of Flamborough Head, where a sea arch, seen from the right angle, looks like a great dinosaur lowering its head to drink from the sea. It stands near the High Stacks, a cluster of chalk stacks and arches worn by the waves.
It is viewed from the clifftop paths near the Flamborough Head lighthouse, on a short walk from the car park, and is a favourite with photographers, especially at sunrise and sunset. Seals swim in the water below, and the cliff edges are steep and best kept back from.
Selwicks Bay
Photo: Graham Hogg via Geograph.org.uk
Selwicks Bay is a small cove ringed by white chalk cliffs, lying directly beneath the lighthouse at Flamborough Head on the East Yorkshire coast. Over time the sea has carved the soft chalk into stacks, arches, caves and blowholes, which makes it one of the finest places on this coast for photographs and rock-pooling.
A steep path and flight of steps run down from the clifftop car park to a rocky, boulder-strewn beach that the high tide covers over. Standing above are the working lighthouse of 1806 and, set further inland, the older stone beacon tower of 1669.
Time your visit around low water.
Barmston Beach
Photo: habiloid via Geograph.org.uk
Barmston Beach The soft brown clay cliffs behind this beach are visibly on the retreat, gnawed back by the sea on what ranks among the fastest-eroding coastlines in Europe. Through summer, sand martins tunnel nest holes into the crumbling face.
Below runs a long, quiet sweep of wide sand on the Holderness coast, a few miles south of Bridlington, with little built along it beyond a caravan park set well back from the edge. The sea is shallow and grey, the shore firm underfoot, and the beach carries on far enough to walk undisturbed.
This is a plain working stretch of coast rather than a resort, wide open to the North Sea wind.
Humber Bridge
Photo: habiloid via Geograph.org.uk
The Humber Bridge is a great suspension bridge across the Humber estuary, linking Hessle in East Yorkshire with Barton-upon-Humber in Lincolnshire. Opened in 1981, its single span stretches around 1,400 metres between tall towers, and for many years it was the longest bridge of its kind in the world.
It carries a road across the water, with footways and a cycle path along the sides that walkers and cyclists cross free. A country park sits at the Hessle end, on old quarry ground beside the bridge.
Danes Dyke Beach
Photo: JThomas via Geograph.org.uk
Danes Dyke Beach is a tucked-away shore of chalk pebbles and sand near Flamborough in East Yorkshire, hemmed in by white chalk cliffs. You reach it by dropping down a steep, wooded ravine from a clifftop car park, the ravine tracing the line of Danes Dyke, an ancient earthwork that slices right across the headland.
When the tide pulls back, rock pools open up among the chalk. That leafy walk down, closed in by trees, is what gives the beach its hidden, secretive feel.
Come at low water and take your time poking about the pools.
FAQs
What is there to see at Flamborough Head?
The sea has cut the white chalk of Flamborough into stacks, arches, caves and blowholes. The Drinking Dinosaur is a sea arch that looks like a dinosaur bending to drink, Selwicks Bay is a stack-ringed cove below the lighthouse, and Danes Dyke beach is reached down a wooded ravine, all good for photographs and rock-pooling.
Can you walk or cycle across the Humber Bridge?
Yes, the Humber Bridge between Hessle and Barton-upon-Humber carries footways and a cycle path along the sides of its road deck that walkers and cyclists cross free. Opened in 1981, its single span stretches around 1,400 metres, and a country park sits at the Hessle end on old quarry ground.
Why are the cliffs at Barmston crumbling?
The Holderness coast at Barmston is one of the fastest-eroding coasts in Europe, its low cliffs of soft brown clay steadily eaten away by the sea. Sand martins nest in holes in the crumbling face through the summer, and the wide open sands below run on for a long way, backed only by a caravan park set well back.
Conclusion
East Yorkshire keeps its finest ground on its chalk and clay coast. Flamborough Head is the heart of it, where the sea has cut the white chalk into stacks and arches: the Drinking Dinosaur peering down to the water, the stack-ringed cove of Selwicks Bay below the lighthouse, and the hidden, wooded descent to Danes Dyke beach along its ancient earthwork.
South of Bridlington, the long sands of Barmston run below the crumbling, fast-eroding Holderness cliffs, and at the far end of the region the Humber Bridge sweeps across the estuary with its country park below. From chalk arch to great span, these are the places to seek out across East Yorkshire.
