Fraisthorpe beach
Fraisthorpe is a stretch of beach to the South of Bridlington. Fraisthorpe used to be a deserted beach but over the years has become more popular since the farmer made a car park. The beach seems to go on for ever in both directions and is great for long walks.
How do you get there
You have to turn off the main A165 road a few miles South of Brdilington. It is signposted with a brown attraction sign with a sandcastle. It is reached by a single track road zig zagging across the fields. There are a few passing places. There is no hedge for quite a lot of the road so it feels like you are driving through the farmers crops. You are also very near some wind turbines which are quite spectacular.
Parking – Important update 2021
There is a very large cliff top car park and a toilet block at the farm. You do have to pay for parking.
The parking has been out sourced to one of the big parking companies. There have been many complaints as people have been fined even though they thought they had paid correctly. It sounds as if you have only 10 minutes from entering the car park and passing the camera to pay. If you take longer then you are fined £100. Same if you mistype your car reg number. At busy times it could take longer to find a place and walk back to the machine. I have been told that this particular companies main income is the fines.
Some people are boycotting the car park even though they have used it for years. Be careful and record screenshots of the app showing you have paid and keep any tickets issued for at least a month. Do not be even a minute late leaving the car park. Do not leave the car park without paying if you spend any time looking for a parking spot.
The cliffs are very low, almost non-existent in places, so access to the beach is easy.
Would you like to stay in a holiday cottage on a beach
Cafe
There is also a new cafe, the cow shed, which is very nice. It is open almost all year but do check times on their website. It has a dog friendly part inside and is popular with dog walkers. A second part of the cafe is not for dogs.
Fraisthorpe beach
Fraisthorpe beach still has some protection from Flamborough head and Smithic sands but there is more surf here than in Bridlington. The sand is good quality but matbe a bit coarser than at Brdilington. It is generally safe for bathing as long as you keep away from the concrete blocks as there can be bits of iron sticking out in places. I would say definitely stay the Bridlington side of the stream if you are bathing.
In the past when it really was deserted Fraisthorpe was a popular place for nudists. Apparently they favoured the small stream about 1 mile south of the car park called Earls Dyke.
Second world war defences
It also has a lot of second world war concrete defenses. It was thought that Bridlington Bay was a possible place for invasion due to its sheltered bay and low cliffs. A lot of defensive pill boxes and antitank blocks were built around Fraisthorpe as the cliffs are so low so invading tanks could more easily be got off the beach. There is one of these blockhouses in the cafe gardens. All the blocks were left in position at the base of the cliffs after the second world war in the hope they would slow down erosion. I am not sure it has helped much. The further South you go the further they now are from the base of the cliff due to the rapid erosion. As you go South you lose the protection offered by Flamborough head and Smithic sands.
Wind surfing
The beach is popular with wind surfers and kite surfers and other wind powered sports. The prevailing strong winds in the uk are south westerly and they blow straight across the beach and out to sea. The low cliffs allow the strong winds to create perfect conditions for these sports.
Fraisthorpe wash ups
It also occasionally has wash ups. Piles of weed containing all sorts washed up on the beach. It can go a few years without one but when there is a good one people descend from all over particularly looking for bait, especially worms and razor fish washed from their burrows by South Easterly gales. You can also find fossils washed out of the boulder clay and even the odd piece of jet sometimes.