Scarborough Transportation

I enjoy riding cable-cars and funiculars but I reckon I could manage the cliffs without these lovely old cliff railways. Good for a novelty factor (approx 50 - 70 pence for a minute ride) and useful for those less mobile.
There used to be 5 in Scarborough but only 3 remain now - South Cliff, Central Tramway and Saint Nicholas Cliff Railways.

The Scarborough South Cliff Tramway Company Limited linked the South Cliff Esplanade with the South Sand (by the Spa Complex) in 1873 and claims fame as being the first funicular in the UK. See the website for details of all the cliff railway if interested.

Situated alongside a lovey old Victorian Tea Room - The Parlour Tea Room - is the Central Tramway (top station is near the rear of the Grand Hotel). This one was first opened to the public in August 1881 to link the city to the shore and it still operates in its original corporate form. Check out the website for some great pictures of the carriages and the charming station.

This is one of several open top buses which run from the spa end of South Bay to the Cafe Corner of the North Bay at a cost of £1 each way. Its not a great distance - easily walked on the flat - but its saves time if you want to spend more time sightseeing or go onto another place :-)

There is a miniature train that runs between Peasholm in North bay to Scalby Mills at the very north end - this is where the sealife centre and some good rock pools are.
It's really not too far to walk, and a walk is very nice on a sunny day, but the train is a nice alternative. As is...

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There are three cliff lifts in the town and these will take you from the promenade up to the town centre ( or down if you do not wish to negotiate the steep steps and paths).
The ride is comfortable and the trams go every few minutes when full. The fare is £0.75( as at April 2012) which is quite expensive for a ride that lasts less than 2 minutes!

The local bus service is operated by Scarborough and District Buses. Their buses all seem to be fairly new and the drivers were friendly and helpful when we used them. The buses stop all over town but start their journeys in Queen Street. The web site provides details of the many services and details of discounted fares and season tickets.

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The sea front buses run every few minutes from the Spa to Corner Cafe and cost £1.50 (June 2006) for the full journey. You can of course pay less and use the bus for journeys within the main route. You pay the driver and change is available - you do not need the exact fare. The buses are open top as the photo shows and it is quite an exhilerating journey especially around the Marine Drive.

An open top bus is a great way to get from one bay to another at Scarborough. It runs right along the seafront from The Corner in North bay to the Spa in South bay.
They're just run by the local bus company and form part of Scarboroughs everyday trasport system.