Holiday Cottages In East Riding of Yorkshire

The East Riding of Yorkshire has around 1,000 self-catering cottages on selfcatering.co.uk, from busy seafront flats at Bridlington to chalk-headland boltholes at Flamborough and farm conversions up on the Wolds. More than 600 of those cottages take dogs and over 280 have a hot tub.

Best areas and towns in the East Riding of Yorkshire

Most of the county's cottages sit on the coast, with the biggest cluster at Bridlington and the headland villages around it, then a thinner scatter inland across the farmland and the chalk hills of the Wolds. The seaside towns hold the lion's share of the beds, while the market towns make quieter bases a short drive from the sea.

• Bridlington: the county's main resort, a working harbour with two long sandy beaches and the most cottages by far
• Flamborough: a village out on the chalk headland, ringed by cliffs, coves and a famous lighthouse
• Bempton: a small village just inland of the great seabird cliffs north of Flamborough
• Hornsea: a low-key seaside town on the Holderness coast, with a mere behind it and a Blue Flag beach
• Withernsea and Skipsea: further down the Holderness shore, small resorts backed by soft, fast-eroding cliffs
• Aldbrough, Garton and Burton Pidsea: farming villages in Holderness, set back from the coast road
• Beverley: the county town, a handsome Georgian and medieval centre under its great minster, with the open pasture of the Westwood at its edge
• Pocklington and Driffield: market towns at the foot of the Wolds, good starting points for the hills
• Brandesburton and Wilberfoss: quiet inland villages between the Wolds and the coast
• South Cave and Bessingby: small places on the western and coastal fringes, handy for the A164 and the Bridlington road

For most visitors the choice comes down to the seaside around Bridlington and Flamborough, or a calmer week inland near Beverley and the Wolds.

The East Riding coast and its beaches

The coast falls into two halves. To the north, the chalk of the Wolds reaches the sea at Flamborough Head, a high white headland of cliffs, stacks and hidden coves, with Flamborough Head Lighthouse standing on the point. Just north of the village, the sheer cliffs at Bempton hold one of England's largest seabird colonies, with gannets, puffins and kittiwakes through the spring and summer; the Flamborough Outer Headlands Nature Reserve covers much of this shore. South of the headland the long, soft Holderness coast runs in a single sweep of sand and clay cliff. Bridlington anchors it with two beaches either side of the harbour, including the popular Bridlington South Beach, while Hornsea and Withernsea both held a Blue Flag in 2025 and Withernsea also took a Seaside Award the same year. This is a fast-changing coast, among the quickest-eroding in Europe, so the cliff edge and the footpaths along it shift from year to year.

Things to do in the East Riding of Yorkshire

Above the beach at Bridlington, Sewerby Hall & Gardens is a Georgian house in clifftop parkland with a small zoo and walled gardens, and Bridlington Animal Park gives families another wet-weather option nearby. Out on the point, the walk to Flamborough Head Lighthouse and along the headland is the classic day, with the seabird cliffs at Bempton a short drive up the coast. Inland, Beverley Westwood is a great expanse of common pasture grazed right up to the edge of the county town, good for an easy walk under the minster towers. The market towns of Beverley, Pocklington and Driffield all make pleasant days out, and the rolling roads and quiet valleys of the Wolds reward a slow drive or a long cycle.

When to visit the East Riding of Yorkshire

Summer is the obvious season for the coast, when Bridlington's beaches and harbour are at their liveliest and the sea is at its warmest. Late spring and early summer are the best window for the seabirds at Bempton, when the cliffs are crowded with nesting gannets and puffins. Autumn and winter suit the Wolds and the market towns, with bracing walks along the clifftops and far fewer people about. Out of season many owners drop their rates, and the long Holderness beaches are quiet enough to have almost to yourself.

Dog-friendly and hot-tub cottages in the East Riding of Yorkshire

More than 600 of the cottages in East Riding of Yorkshire take dogs, and more than 200 have a hot tub. Browse the cottages that welcome dogs or cottages with a hot tub to narrow your search.

Getting to the East Riding of Yorkshire

The East Riding sits on the North Sea coast in the east of Yorkshire, reached from the motorway network by the M62 and then the A63 towards Hull or the A1079 up to Beverley and the coast. Trains run from Hull and from York to Beverley, Driffield and Bridlington, with the Bridlington line following the coast. The nearest large airports are Leeds Bradford and Doncaster Sheffield to the west, while Humberside Airport lies just across the estuary to the south.

Useful links

• Visit East Yorkshire
• East Riding of Yorkshire Council
• RSPB Bempton Cliffs
• Yorkshire Wolds Way National Trail

The East Riding of Yorkshire is a county in the north-east of England, lying between the city of Hull on the Humber estuary and the North Sea coast. It is a large, mostly rural county of farmland, with the open chalk hills of the Yorkshire Wolds curving across its centre and a long, low coastline running south from the cliffs of Flamborough Head.

The land falls into three broad parts. In the north and centre the Wolds rise in smooth, dry valleys to the highest ground in the county before dropping to the sea at Flamborough, where the chalk forms white cliffs, stacks and coves. South of the headland the Holderness plain spreads flat to the coast, a sweep of rich farmland edged by soft clay cliffs that the sea wears back faster than almost anywhere in Europe, carrying whole lost villages into the water over the centuries. At the southern tip the land narrows to the long shingle finger of Spurn, curling into the mouth of the Humber.

Beverley is the county town, a medieval and Georgian centre gathered under the towers of its great minster, with Bridlington the main resort on the coast and Driffield and Pocklington serving the Wolds. The county has a deep past, from the Iron Age tribes of the region to the medieval wool and trading wealth that paid for its churches. Today farming and seaside tourism shape much of its working life, drawing visitors to the beaches, the headland and the quiet roads of the Wolds.