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You can see many of the caves from here, along with a small brick construction set near the top of the cliff. This was a gunpowder store for the two forty pounder guns once kept at Flamborough for the defence of the area.Smugglers Cave, the largest on the east coast of England, Church Cave and Thornwick Cave. The large bay is Thomwick Bay and the small one is Little Thornwick Bay. (Thor was the Danish God of thunder and it is named after him). 

You can walk between the bays at low tide. Indeed, a natural amphitheatre exists, with many rock pools waiting to be explored. These are a delight for young children, if not for the crabs! The next bay is Chatterthrow Bay. Beware: the only entrance and exit is through the large rock arch. You cannot climb up the cliff and you will be stranded until the tide goes out again if you are not careful. 

There has been a lifeboat station protecting the water around the cliffs since 1871 and the boards inside tell of lives saved and lost. Although launching the boat today can still be dangerous, try to picture it not all that long ago when it was an open boat and rowed through the heavy swell, the volunteers clad only in oilskins with a cork life-belt for safety. Although only a few cobbles sail from here today, at one time there were 80.

The catch was landed on the beach and auctioned, the buyers giving their own nods and winks. It was then taken up the cliff by donkeys and packed into boxes or barrels before being transported to Hull by train. Many local people still remember this and will always tell you their story. The boats were hauled up the slipway and old photos depict a busy and colourful sight, now sadly gone.

Rock pools are exposed at low tide and are a delight for young children, if not for crabs! Several large caves can be explored but be careful and make sure that you know where your children are. The tide comes in the caves from behind and, as the rocks shelve upwards from the beach, many people are cut off every year. Sadly some people have drowned. It is not advisable to explore the rocks at the western side of the cove as this is where most people get cut off and rock falls occur.

Robin Lythe is mentioned in the book ‘Mary Anerley’, written by R. D. Blackmore of ‘Lorna Doone’ fame. The book tells of smuggling exploits in this part of England, and they are easy to imagine as you view this secluded cove away from the village. Tea, brandy, tobacco, silk and cotton ware all smuggled in at one time. A typical tale is that of a ship moored off the headland signalling that a man on board had died. A coffin was sent out and duly returned. A solemn procession was led through the village, watched over by the preventive men (Customs), and the coffin left overnight for burial the next day. It was buried, but then full of stones instead of……..? Some of the older cottages are said to have hidden cupboards that defied the searches of the Customs men.

It is a reminder of how treacherous the Yorkshire coast can be. By one estimate, it has averaged two shipwrecks a week since 1500. In 1869, the 100-mile stretch of coast between Spurn Head and Teesmouth accounted for 838 ships – more than two a day. What few people realise is that many wrecks still survive, in some battered form, and can be visited. The coastal path is often walked, but few are aware of the lost and secret history that lies among the rocks and caves.

At North Landing, as low tide approaches, I set off along the rocks under the cliffs on the north side of the cove. At the point there is a large lump of rusting metal trapped in the rocks, a thing the size of a small car. It is the boiler of SS Rosa, an Admiralty ship that went down in 1930. Riveted steel plates are scattered about. Nearby are some wonderful sea caves to explore. (Always be absolutely sure of the tide times and heights, which change daily. An hour either side of low water is usually the best and only exploring time. Many sailors who survived wrecks died attempting to climb the cliffs.)

Heading back to the beach, I clamber across the rocks and enter a small cave right under a cacophony of seabirds on the chalk cliffs. Once my eyes are accustomed to the gloom, I make my way into a much larger cavern, like the digestive tract of an enormous sea monster. It leads down to an exit where the waves are breaking. This is Robin Lythe’s Cave, said to be named after a smuggler who used this magnificent cavern to land, and store, contraband.

At low tide, you can step out of the cave’s main seaward entrance and admire the cliffs of Flamborough Head, that notorious destroyer of shipping. Charles Dickens, touring the area’s graveyards in 1851, was moved to write: “You would imagine any man mad, from all that you see around you, who would think of trusting himself to the ocean.” By then, the shipwreck had become a relentless tragic narrative, with hymn-writers salting every lyric with wrathful tempests and harbours of salvation. More prosaically, the people of the coast gathered firewood and building materials galore: hire an old cottage along these shores and you’ll probably be sleeping under the timbers of a sailing-era shipwreck.

Flamborough’s most famous wreck has yet to be found: that of the American vessel Bonhomme Richard, which sank in 1779 in front of crowds of people on the cliffs. They had gathered to watch the ship battle it out with the British man of war, Serapis. Bizarrely, the Americans lost their ship, but boarded the Serapis and captured her in hand-to-hand combat.

The walk north to Bempton, via more caves at Thornwick Bay, is a wonderful one. As you approach the RSPB reserve, stop at New Roll-Up viewpoint: you might spot the remains of the Radium, an Italian ship wrecked in 1923.

Most wrecks here are exactly that – shattered remains. Up the coast near Robin Hood’s Bay, there is one that until relatively recently looked like a full ship. Local residents report that the wreck of the trawler Sarb-J has now broken up, however some parts are still there. Checking the tide, walk north along the rocky shoreline and you will come across Sarb-J, which ran aground here in 1994 after her propeller got tangled in rope. A big rescue effort ensued and the crew were airlifted off. It is now perched on its keel under the cliff.

Further up the coast at Saltwick Bay, a walk across the scars towards the rock known as Black Nab reveals another wreck, this one almost unrecognisable as a ship. In 1976, the Admiral von Tromp ran aground here in thick fog and heavy seas. The Whitby lifeboat got so close it touched, but the rescue proved difficult and two men drowned.

The shore at Kettleness, between Whitby and Runswick Bay, is scattered with wreckage, including the Wolfhound, a Humber boat that went down in 1896; the boiler is still there, covered in kelp. One wreck, the Belgian trawler Jeanne, is remembered in the churchyard at Lythe, where there is a gravestone for three men who drowned in 1932. (This atmospheric graveyard appears in Daniel Day Lewis’s next film, The Phantom Thread.)

The last stop in any shipwreck walk ought to be the evocative St Mary’s church in Whitby, where there is a memorial to the lifeboat tragedy of 1861. During a terrible storm, and after saving many lives in front of a massive crowd on the pier, the lifeboat flipped over, drowning 12 men. One crew member, Henry Freeman, survived. He had the sense to wear a newfangled life vest.

After visiting the church, head down the steps – known by all as the Dracula Steps – across the swing bridge and over to the pier itself, a fabulous piece of marine engineering. From there, continue up the hill towards East Terrace. On a grassy bank you will find a park bench dedicated to Bram Stoker, who sat here and used a real shipwreck – that of a Russian vessel on the shore opposite – to create an imaginary one, that of the Demeter, and, of course, the most memorable shipwreck survivor of all time: Count Dracula himself.

There are endless things to do and sights to see during a visit to Flamborough but there is one gem that might easily have passed you by.

In fact, it is a sight you can only see at certain times and you will have to be quick and careful to view it. It is easy to notice all the caves and openings dotted along the white chalk cliffs.

At low tide, it is possible to access these caves and there is one which is particularly impressive and filled with myth and legend. Known as Robin Lythe’s Hole, it can be found a short way out from North Landing beach on the right.

The entrance itself is pretty unassuming and you have to clamber up the cliffs a bit. Initially, it is a bit cramped and narrow but then it expands out into an impressive cavern some 60ft high. The cavern is dimly lighted by two openings - one on the land side, the other looking out on the sea.

The cave itself has a cathedral feel although not quite to the same scale. The roof is domed and is formed of arches carved out by the relentless waves over thousands of years. The floor has the appearance of a regular flight of stone steps but you need to be careful as the ground is uneven and can be slippery with pools of sea water in places.

There is some doubt as to the identity of the cave’s namesake Robin Lythe. Some have him as an innocent shipwrecked sailor saved by finding shelter in the relative safety of the cave. But the more exciting and romantic idea is that he as a socially-conscious smuggler, almost Robin Hood-esque.

Smugglers reportedly used to haul their French spirits and tobacco up to the cave and stash it. At other times, locals would find bodies washed in during storms. There are regular reports of a ghostly presence spotted rolling a cask of cognac up the smooth white stones. But, another cave nearby, known as the Dove Cote, is more likely to be a smugglers’ cave with reports there was a tunnel which extended all the way to a local church.

If you do want to explore the cave make sure you check the tide times and let someone know where you are going. Be careful on the uneven and slippery surface too. Take a look at some amazing shots of Robin Lythe's Hole and the others caves dotted along the Flamborough chalk cliffs below.