6 Yorkshire swim spots with a café nearby

Boggle Hole YHA and Quarterdeck Café

Tucking into a scrumptious slice of cake and sipping from a steaming mug of tea after an invigorating wild swim is an essential part of the outdoor dipping adventure. On a warm day, you might dry off and bask in the sunshine, flask in hand. But as the weather turns colder, there is nothing nicer than retreating to a cosy café to warm up with a sweet treat.

With that in mind, here are 6 Yorkshire swim spots with a café round the corner…

Nelly Ayre Foss, Goathland

Nelly Ayre Foss

• The picture-postcard village of Goathland on the eastern fringes of the North York Moors boasts spectacular moorland scenery, dramatic scars, riven with streams, becks and rills, with no fewer than four sets of waterfalls. Mallyon Spout is the most well-known but Nelly Ayre Foss is a secluded waterfall hidden down a wooded slope just out of the village, perfect for a wild swim.

• Map co-ordinates 54.3858, -0.7490

  Café: Head to the Coach House and Courtyard, part of the Mallyon Spout Hotel, for slabs of delicious homemade cakes, cream scones, barista coffee and shakes. Closes for the autumn/winter season but coffee and cake is still available in the hotel or bar

  Wain Wath, Keld

Wain Wath Force, Keld

• The tiny hamlet of Keld claims to have the highest concentration of waterfalls in England (there are at least nine within a mile of this secluded Upper Swaledale hamlet). The most popular is Wain Wath Falls, broad and graceful, cascading into a magnificent plunge pool while the limestone cliffs of Cotterby Scar form a backdrop behind it.

  Map co-ordinates: 54.4095, -2.1803

  Café: Afterwards head down the road to the cosy Keld Green Café, which offers a tempting array of cakes, as well as a good breakfast, lunch and light bites menu. There is a small outdoor patio for alfresco if the weather is sunny.

  Selwicks Bay, Flamborough

Selwicks Bay, Flamborough

• A lovely sand and pebble bay at the foot of soaring chalk cliffs on the Flamborough Headland. As the tide recedes, a rocky shoreline with rock pools is revealed. There are caves, tunnels and inlets to explore. Not far away is Thornwick Bay, a shingle and pebble cove with a natural amphitheatre at low tide and ‘rapids’ to swim through.

  Map co-ordinates: 54.1181, -0.0825

  Café: Headlands Family Restaurant and Café - Right next to the lighthouse, this family business has recently been refurbished with the addition of two light-filled orangeries with spectacular coastal views. There is a main meal and breakfast menu as well as teacakes and scones.

  Pool Bridge Farm, York

Pool Bridge Farm

• It seems like Pool Bridge is everyone’s favourite Yorkshire swim spot - and not surprisingly. There are four beautiful wild swimming lakes, including the picturesque Monet Lake, afloat with water lilies, which feels like you are swimming through the artist’s famous paintings. It is a paid-for wild swim but the small entry fee is worth it if you want a safe, outdoor swimming experience as there are invariably other bathers here. Check out the lakeside saunas to enhance your wild swim experience.

• 53.9097, -1.0254

• You won’t have to head far as there is a café on site. Pool Bridge Farm Café is a cosy space for a post-swim treat with a roaring log burner and leather armchairs. Homemade cakes, wood-fired pizzas and Sunday lunches are all on the menu.

  River Wharfe, Hebden

River Wharfe, Hebden

• A pleasant and peaceful spot for a dip near Hebden’s unique swing bridge, reached by following the riverside path upstream for a couple of hundred metres to a pebble beach and a calm stretch of river for a paddle or a wild swim.

• Map co-ordinates: 54.0576, -1.9628

• Café: Once the village school, The Old School Tearoom in a characterful Victorian building has an old clock that still chimes every hour as well as lovely views down to the beck. A friendly place with a delicious all-day menu; barista coffee, homemade cakes, breakfasts and more…

  Boggle Hole, Yorkshire Coast

Boggle Hole

• A small cove just south of Robin Hood’s Bay with carved-out hollows eroded by the sea at the end of a wooded valley. The beach has a rocky, seaweed-strewn foreshore that gives way to a wide expanse of caramel sand. Take care and check tide times as it is only swimmable at low or a receding tide as the water laps right up to the slipway at high tide, covering the entire beach.

• Map co-ordinates: 54.4242, -0.5284

• Café: The old watermill is now a stylish youth hostel with a super café. The Quarterdeck Café is the perfect post-swim retreat with a snug interior, sofas, armchairs and cosy blankets, warmed by a blazing log-burner.
  
  

  For hundreds more secret swim spots, outdoor adventures and great places to eat, grab a copy of Wild Guide North East England.