Saltburn-by-the-Sea, a seaside town in North Yorkshire, is frequently named one of the UK’s most underrated coastal destinations. Founded in the 1860s by Quaker entrepreneur Henry Pease, it was designed as a retreat from industrial smog, preserving its 19th-century character with no neon arcades.
The town boasts the UK’s oldest operating water-balanced funicular, the Saltburn Cliff Tramway, which opened in 1884. It also features the last remaining Victorian pleasure pier in Yorkshire, extending 681 feet into the North Sea since 1869.
Saltburn’s beach is a premier surfing destination in the North East, with expansive sand and shingle framed by rugged cliffs. Hunt Cliff, rising 365 feet, is a seabird nesting site and part of the Cleveland Way National Trail.
The town’s historic centre, laid out on a grid, includes the “Jewel Streets” named after gemstones. Due to its teetotal Quaker founders, commercial pubs were banned for over a century; the first standalone pub opened in 1982.
Despite the 2023 film “Saltburn,” the movie was shot in Northamptonshire and only borrowed the town’s name.
