Are you looking for days out and things to do near Blue Dolphin Holiday Park?
Blue Dolphin enjoys a beautiful location on the Yorkshire coast and is jam packed with fabulous Haven activities and entertainment for the whole family.
And if you want to explore some of the popular attractions near Blue Dolphin, there are plenty of options within easy reach of the park.
Filey Beach
Filey Beach is a five-mile stretch of golden sands on the East Coast of England. The beach was named beach of the year by the Sunday Times in 2018 and is lined with a historical promenade.
The beach is popular with families and also has a number of cafes, restaurants and bars. There is also a small amusement park.
Scarborough Beach
Scarborough’s fantastic beaches and seaside entertainment are less than 5 miles away.
There are two wide, sandy beaches, amusements, donkey rides and all the entertainment you could want for a fabulous day out at one of the UK’s most popular seaside resorts.
The dramatic ruins of historic Scarborough Castle are high on the rocks that separate the two sandy beaches.
South Bay has a Victorian pier, cafes, ice creams, shops, theatres and donkey rides.
North Bay is a popular family beach day with excellent conditions for surfing. There is a harbour with yachts and boat trips on offer.
Filey Brigg
For a breathtaking, long walk high on the steep clifftops, with fossils, fascinating geology, and seabirds to spot, historic Filey Brigg is a long peninsula less than 10 minutes drive from Blue Dolphin.
Filey Brigg is a designated Nature Reserve and an Area of Scientific Interest.
- Café, shop, toilets at the Country Park
- Suitable for families with children, unsuitable for wheelchairs
- Oystercatchers, purple sandpipers, redshanks
Filey Bird Garden and Animal Park
A delightful day out for all ages in all weathers, Filey Bird Garden and Animal Park is set in lovely gardens with a wide variety of friendly animals to meet.
Watch and participate in feeding time and listen to some informative, friendly keeper talks. With peaceful gardens, woodland walks, and lots to see and do, this is a relaxing, entertaining day out for all ages.
- Terrific value for money
- Bags of animal food on sale
- A wide variety of animals and reptiles: donkeys, alpacas, giant rabbits, guinea pigs, meerkats, miniature ponies, skunks, snakes, giant tortoises
- Secret garden: exotic birds, chipmunks
- Formal gardens, sensory garden
- Wildlife pond: animal paddocks
- Wildflower meadow, woodland trail and willow tunnel
- Café, picnic areas
- Gift shop
- Play park: activities, tunnels, dens, fireman’s pole
Cayton Bay Beach
In contrast to bustling Scarborough, Cayton Bay is a wild, peaceful, uncrowded sandy beach sheltered by cliffs dating back to Jurassic times.
The pristine, golden sands are perfect for sandcastles, swimming, and windsurfing and are home to the long-established Scarborough Surf School.
Cayton Bay is a favourite for fossil hunters and bird watchers. Access is via a steep path, unsuitable for disabled people or prams.
- Jurassic cliffs: fossils
- Swimming, surfing, windsurfing
- Historic WWII pill boxes in the part of the beach known as Johnny Flinton’s harbour
- Car park on site
- Café
- Shop
The Scarborough Fair Collection and Vintage Transport Collection
Less than a mile down the road from Blue Dolphin, thousands of visitors come each year to see the fantastic, unique working collection of vintage vehicles and fairground rides and mechanical organs.
A trip down memory lane for grandparents, lots of fun for the children, and a top of the list activity between Filey and Scarborough.
- Vintage fairground rides: cake walk, ghost train, caterpillar, dodgems
- Wheelchair friendly
- Vintage transport museum: cars, motorcycles, steam engines, buses
- Museum ballroom: 2 Mighty Wurlitzer organs, tea dances, café, bar
- Penny arcade: real old pennies to buy
Sea Life Scarborough
From tree lizards and snakes to penguins, seals and sharks, there are more than 1000 creatures to see at Sea Life, Scarborough.
With 50 impressive indoor and outdoor displays, including an Adventure in the Rainforest, a walk around Penguin island and a chance to get up close to the sharks and rays in the Tropical Ocean Tunnel, this is a beautiful day out, 8 miles from Blue Dolphin Holiday Park.
- Breakfast with the seals
- Restaurant, picnic area
- Informative sharks and ray talks
- Rockpools where you can see and touch starfish
- Otter River
- Coral Reef inhabitants
- Pirate adventure mini golf
Peasholm Park
There are many reasons to visit enchanting, historic Peasholm Park, including the tranquil boating lake, golf, waterfalls, oriental style pagoda and bridges set in beautifully landscaped gardens.
Six miles from Blue Dolphin, this is a beautiful sanctuary to sit, stroll and relax.
- Free entrance
- 100 yards from North Beach
- Boat hire: rowing boats, canoes, pedalos
- Lily pond at the top of the glen
- Putting green
- Naval battles display, bandstand
- Cafes, cold drinks, ice cream
- Bridge leading across to the island in the centre of the lake
Scarborough Castle
With 3000 years of history, Scarborough Castle is a dramatic highlight of any visit to this part of the Yorkshire coast.
Set on a grassy headland, this majestic fortress has seen many defining battles since the 12th century. Audio tours provide an intriguing insight into the early Iron Age settlements, the Roman signal station, and the Medieval chapel.
Scarborough Castle is less than 5 miles from Blue Dolphin, and there are magnificent panoramic views across North and South Scarborough beaches and the Yorkshire coast.
- Master Gunner’s House: artefacts from Scarborough’s past
- Prehistoric tools and pottery, a replica of a Bronze Age sword
- Coffee and cake
- Ice cream
- Castle shop
Playdale Farm Park
A delightful day out come rain or shine; Playdale Farm Park is packed with activities to keep the family entertained.
Playdale is located on the outskirts of the village of Cayton near Scarborough, about 2 miles from Blue Dolphin.
There’s a wide variety of animals in a natural farm environment, including llamas, alpacas, sheep, and goats which you can meet up close and hand feed.
- Large indoor play area: tractor zone, adventure trail, soft play, four lane Astro slide
- Larger interactive animal barn and paddocks: pigs, ponies, donkeys, emus
- Small animal barn: small animals including rabbits, chinchillas, tortoises, birds
- Hatchery: newly hatched chicks, incubating eggs
- Springtime: lambs, piglets, goat kids
- Outdoor play and picnic areas: Summer Sledge Run, Zip Wire, Frisbee Golf course
- Pedal Go Kart track, pedal tractors
- Adventure fort
- Large sandpit, ride on diggers
- Metropolis play area: picnic benches
- Undercover picnic area
- Café
- Kiosk
- Gift shop
South Cliff Italian Gardens
Stretching from Spa Bridge to Holbeck, the serene, historic gardens of South Cliff Italian Gardens hold hidden secrets. As you walk among gently sloping woodlands, you’ll stumble across the formal terraces, shelters, the fragrant rose garden, and lily pond and be amazed by the spectacular sea views.
- Rose Garden, Italian garden
- Terraced walks, woodland walks
- Putting green
- Cliff lift
- Coastal birds and wildlife
Filey Dams Nature Reserve
This well cared for, peaceful reserve is teeming with wildlife and filled with wild flowers just over a mile from Blue Dolphin.
Large freshwater lagoons nestle amongst the marshes and grassland, where cattle graze.
Filey Dams Nature Reserve is the only remaining freshwater marsh in the area, and along its walks and in the hides, you’ll spot that it’s a haven for migratory birds, small mammals, and amphibians and home to a wide variety of rare plants.
- Geese, gulls, ducks
- Migratory waders: greenshank, sandpipers
- Barn Owl box
- Wild flowers: yellow flag iris, bur-reed, bottle sedge
- Wildlife: water voles, newts, bats, dragon flies
Reighton Sands
Five miles from Blue Dolphin, northwest of Flamborough Headland, there’s a vast stretch of flat sandy beach at low tide, perfect for long walks and popular with swimmers.
You can walk to Filey from Reighton Sands. The cliffs sheltering the beach are rich in fossils, and hunters are likely to find a specimen or two.
- Rockpools, fossils
- Seabirds and coastal wildlife
- Facilities in Hummanby and Primrose Valley nearby include an amusement centre.
- Incredible views from Bempton Cliffs Nature Reserve: you might spot whales or dolphins
- Beach cafe