Scarborough

A woman named Elizabeth Farrow found a mineral spring on the shore around 1626, and by the 1660s people were coming to drink and then to bathe, which makes Scarborough the earliest seaside resort in Britain; bathing machines were in use here decades before other resorts. A castle on the high headland between the two bays dates from the twelfth century on an Iron Age and Roman site, and was shelled from the sea in 1914. The Grand Hotel of 1867 was among the largest in Europe when built, laid out on a calendar theme with four towers, twelve floors and 365 rooms. Peasholm Park stages naval battles with model warships on its lake, a display running since 1927. The Rotunda Museum of 1829 was purpose-built for geology on William Smith's principles.

What you actually see

• The headland castle - a twelfth-century fortress dividing North and South Bay.
• The Grand Hotel - an 1867 building laid out on a calendar theme.
• Peasholm Park battles - model warship displays running since 1927.
• The Rotunda - an 1829 museum purpose-built for stratigraphic geology.

When to go

May to September for the beaches and full attraction opening; the Open Air Theatre runs summer concerts. Out of season the town is quiet and many seafront businesses close.

Honest expectations

Scarborough has the problems of many British resorts, with a run-down stretch of seafront alongside the restored parts. The North Sea is cold and the wind constant. Summer weekends and school holidays crowd the beaches and parking.

Nearby

Filey and Bempton Cliffs lie south; Whitby and the moors are north.