Seaside pleasures

Having spent many weekends of my early childhood freezing on the beach at Scarborough, engaged in wintertime sandcastle-making during visits to my paternal grandparents, the idea of an out-of-season short break at the seaside holds nostalgic appeal. So, on a Saturday morning in April we set off for Filey, Scarborough's smaller and less commercialised coastal neighbour.

Filey is a delightfully old-fashioned seaside town where time seems to have stood still in the 1950s. The shops have names like Household Stores, Harry's New and Used, All Occasions Florist and The Man Shop (a gentleman's outfitters where "all sizes are catered for") with signs that date back at least 40 years.

They feature the kind of lettering that could be regarded as trendily "retro" were it not for the fact that there is nothing so self-conscious about these signs – they just haven't been changed for the past half century or so. The window displays contain mannequins of a certain vintage and some of the windows themselves even have yellow cellophane on the inside to protect the contents from the sun.

All so quaint, endearing and belonging to a bygone era, but how would this go down with our unequivocally 21st-century 14 and 12 year-old sons? Well, as it turned out, not as badly as might have been anticipated.

Arriving at our comfortable little B&B in the centre of town and only a few minutes' walk from the beach, we parked the car, took our bags inside and were greeted by friendly owner Julia Whittle. She and her husband Graham moved to Filey from Doncaster about five years ago to run Binton Guesthouse.

Once installed, we then headed for the beach. Uncharacteristically for early April, the sun was shining and it was warm enough to walk around comfortably without a coat. In fact, sunglasses were required. It felt like a proper seaside holiday.

Filey beach is a beautiful, seemingly endless expanse of fine sand with, on a clear day such as it was, marvellous views out to sea and along the coast to Bridlington in one direction and Scarborough in the other.

Since it was not yet high season, the beach was wonderfully uncluttered – no deck chairs or windbreakers and only a few people walking dogs, a couple of children making sandcastles, a man with a metal detector and a brave little girl who was actually splashing about in the sea.

Others were tentatively paddling. At one end of the beach, there were donkey rides available – something I had loved as a child and it was heartening to see that these simple, old-fashioned pleasures are still enjoyed by children today.

Having walked a long stretch of the beach, we came back up through Glen Gardens where more timeless activities were on offer – swings, slides, trampolines, baby pitch and putt suitable for tiny tots, and a boating lake. The boys had a great half hour of fun on a pedalo (having first given me their iPods and mobiles for safe-keeping).

They were then keen to have a game of crazy golf, so we headed in the direction of the promenade where, the map informed us, we would find the crazy golf course. To get there we walked along The Crescent with its elegant Edwardian villas and pretty, well-kept municipal flower-beds (Filey has won the Beautiful Britain in Bloom regional trophy several years running) stopping off to try out the brick maze. One round of crazy golf later and we slowly meandered back along the front and up into the town centre. Filey is definitely the sort of place for that – no-one's in a rush; it's the perfect get-away-from-it-all kind of holiday town.

Part of its appeal is that it is quiet and tranquil and not too over-run with tourists, but this wasn't always the case. For many years Filey was one of the most popular English seaside destinations thanks to the huge Butlin's holiday camp which operated just south of the town. Building work began in 1939 and continued during the war when it was RAF Hunmanby Moor.

After the war it became the resort Billy Butlin always intended it to be. In its heyday in the 1950s and 60s it had its own railway station and could cater for up to 10,000 holidaymakers as well as being an important part of the town's economy. It was a major blow when the camp closed in 1983 – not just from the point of view of employment, but also entertainment, as the townsfolk were allowed to use the camp's facilities. The site was left empty until 2006 when work began on a new complex of holiday homes, The Bay.

Our evening meal on Saturday was another step back in time – we ate at a lovely traditional English restaurant the Victoria Court. Run by the Bell family for more than 25 years, the restaurant won The Good Food Guide's "Yorkshire Coast Restaurant of the Year" award in 2007. The food was excellent with, as you might expect, fish and seafood being particularly well-represented on the menu as well as steaks, roasts and, of course, Yorkshire pudding – served as a starter. The staff were all very friendly and helpful; the decor may be a little dated but that is all part of its appeal.

We were up bright and early on Sunday morning for a fabulous full English breakfast served by our lovely hosts.

The weather was once again warm and sunny so after we had packed up, we set off walking in the direction of Filey Brigg which juts out into the sea with dramatic cliffs and wonderful rock pools. A path leads down to the furthest point of the Brigg – although erosion means that it can be a bit of a scramble at times. If you can, however, it's well worth walking right out to the end as we did. With waves crashing on both sides and a magnificent view out to sea, you feel close to, and at one with, nature. There is something quite hypnotic about watching the sea, and being almost surrounded by it while still being on dry land is a special sensation. Don't stand and stare for too long, though, because at high tide the Brigg gets cut off. If you have more time and fancy a longer stride out, Filey is at the eastern end of the Cleveland Way – the long-distance walk that starts at Helmsley, then skirts the North Yorkshire Moors – and at the northern end of the Yorkshire Wolds Way which starts at Hessle and crosses the Yorkshire Wolds.

Having approached the Brigg from the Country Park at the top of the cliffs, near St Oswald's Church which dates back to the 13th century, we then walked back along the beach past the Coble Landing where the (now very few) fishing boats are moored. We all felt relaxed and renewed as though we had briefly stepped back into a gentler, slower-paced age of innocent pleasures. Filey has that effect on you; and even our teenage sons – though they would never admit it – fell for its old-fashioned charm.

FILEY FACT FILE

Yvette Huddleston and family stayed at Binton Guesthouse, Tel 01723 513753 www.bintonguesthouse.com

The Victoria Court Restaurant, The Crescent. Tel 01723 513237.

www.fileybrigg.com

www.clevelandway.co.uk

www.nationaltrail.co.uk/YorkshireWoldsWay

YP MAG 29/5/10