Photo: Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do in Filey
Wondering what to do in Filey? This guide lists the area's attractions — zoos, museums, theme parks and more — with distances, so you can plan every day of your trip.
Showing museums, aquariums and attractions with indoor areas — the ones that work whatever the forecast.
Aquariums
8 mi from Filey
SEA LIFE Scarborough
SEA LIFE Scarborough is an indoor and outdoor aquarium where you can get close to more than 2500 creatures. Highlights include a walk-through Humboldt penguin colony on Penguin Isl...
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Museums & Galleries
0.1 mi from Filey
Filey Museum
Filey Museum sits in the town's old town, tucked near the 12th-century St Oswald's Church, and is housed in two former cottages dating back to 1696, believed to be the oldest domes...
2.7 mi from Filey
The Scarborough Fair Collection & Vintage Transport Museum
The Scarborough Fair Collection & Vintage Transport Museum brings together vintage cars, steam engines, fairground rides and mechanical organs, including a mighty Wurlitzer Organ i...
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6.5 mi from Filey
Rotunda Museum
The Rotunda Museum is a historic, purpose-built museum on the Yorkshire coast, exploring coastal heritage and geology. Inside its Georgian gallery you'll find a frieze depicting lo...
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6.6 mi from Filey
Maritime Heritage
Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre is a community-run museum dedicated to saving Scarborough's maritime history, based at 45 Eastborough in the heart of town. Here you'll find a...
8.8 mi from Filey
Bayle Museum
The Bayle Museum occupies a Grade I listed former gatehouse in Bridlington's Old Town, once part of Bridlington Priory and later used as a prison, courtroom and garrison. Today it...
15.2 mi from Filey
Museum of the Wagoners' Special Reserve
Museum in Sledmere, England, United Kingdom
20 mi from Filey
Beck Isle Museum
Beck Isle Museum sits at the heart of Pickering, a market town on the edge of the North York Moors, and tells the story of the area through a collection of 50,000 objects across 25...
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20.3 mi from Filey
Eden Camp Museum
Eden Camp Modern History Museum is a large Second World War-related museum near Malton in North Yorkshire in England. — Wikipedia
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20.9 mi from Filey
Norton and Malton Heritage Centre
The Malton and Norton Heritage Centre is home to the Woodhams Stone Collection, a volunteer-run local history archive covering the market towns of Malton and Norton from 1900 to 19...
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21.2 mi from Filey
Hornsea Museum
Hornsea Museum sits in Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, just half a mile from Hornsea beach, making it an easy addition to a seaside day out. Spread across six historic buildings...
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21.3 mi from Filey
Malton Museum
Malton Museum tells the story of Malton's past, with an exhibition exploring Monks, Merchants & Medicine and a collection of selected objects to discover. You can join a town tour,...
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21.3 mi from Filey
Dickens Museum & Scrooges Counting House
The building was the office of Charles Smithson, the Malton solicitor with whom Dickens formed a close friendship. Dickens frequently visited Smithson in the town, and is said to h...
23.1 mi from Filey
Captain Cook Memorial Museum
This small museum in Whitby tells the story of Captain Cook, housed in the 17th-century building where he lodged as an apprentice seaman. Inside, you'll find collections charting h...
23.1 mi from Filey
Cholmley House
Abbey House is a historic building in Whitby, a town in North Yorkshire, England. — Wikipedia
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23.3 mi from Filey
Whitby Museum
Whitby Museum is an independent museum founded in 1823, set in Pannett Park in Whitby, North Yorkshire. Inside you'll find gigantic fossils and dinosaur footprints, displays on the...
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23.3 mi from Filey
Pannett Art Gallery
Art gallery and museum in Whitby, North Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom
Zoos & Wildlife
8.9 mi from Filey
Sewerby Zoo
Sewerby Zoo is a family-friendly zoo within Sewerby Hall and Gardens, home to a mix of domestic and wild animals from pygmy goats and llamas to capuchin monkeys, raccoon dogs and H...
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Where to stay near Filey
Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.
More around Filey
Itineraries
- A weekend in Yorkshire: an accessible itinerary · 2 days
- A weekend in Yorkshire with the kids · 2 days
- A weekend in Yorkshire · 2 days
Haunted Britain
Filey sits in a handy spot on the Yorkshire coast: close enough to Scarborough and Bridlington for a half-day outing, and within striking distance of Whitby, York and Hull if you fancy a longer run out. That mix means you can plan a week without repeating yourself, and still have days where you barely move beyond the seafront. Here's how the main attractions stack up, and how to group them so you're not zig-zagging about.
Start with what's on the doorstep
The Scarborough Fair Collection & Vintage Transport Museum is the one attraction on this list that's actually in Filey, which makes it the obvious first stop — especially on an arrival day when you don't want a long drive. It's a good shout for mixed-age groups, since vintage transport tends to hold the attention of grandparents and children for roughly the same length of time, which is rarer than it sounds.
Family days out
For the big-ticket family day, Flamingo Land over towards Whitby is the headline theme park, and it's the sort of place that swallows a whole day rather than half of one. Closer to hand, Scarborough Sea Life Centre is the reliable choice with younger children — plenty to look at, mostly indoors, and it pairs well with a wander round Scarborough afterwards.
Older children and teenagers usually get more out of Go Ape Dalby, which is high ropes and adrenaline rather than gentle pottering. It's worth booking ahead and checking what the minimum height and age requirements are before you commit the day to it.
- Under-sevens: Scarborough Sea Life Centre, then the beach
- Mixed ages: The Scarborough Fair Collection & Vintage Transport Museum
- Teenagers: Go Ape Dalby or Flamingo Land
Rainy-day options
This stretch of Yorkshire is unusually well supplied with small museums, which is exactly what you want when the weather turns. Whitby alone gives you the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, the Museum of Victorian Science, Beck Isle Museum, Land of Iron, Tocketts Watermill, Pannett Art Gallery and Staithes Heritage Centre and the Captain Cook Museum. That's more than enough for several wet afternoons, and they're varied enough that you won't feel you're seeing the same displays twice.
Nearer to Filey, Bridlington has the Bayle Museum and the Harbour Heritage Museum, both modest in size and easy to combine with a walk along the front. North Frodingham Local History Museum is the quieter, more local-history option in that direction.
Heritage and history
The Captain Cook story runs right through this coast, and you can follow it properly by pairing the Captain Cook Memorial Museum with Staithes Heritage Centre and the Captain Cook Museum. Industrial history is covered by Land of Iron, while Tocketts Watermill is the gentler, more hands-on counterpart.
Further inland, York offers Eden Camp Museum, Catton Heritage Museum and the Dickens Museum & Scrooges Counting House — Eden Camp in particular tends to take longer than people expect, so don't stack too much around it. Towards Hull, Sutton and Wawne museum is a small, local-interest stop. For a landmark rather than a museum, Driffield Castle is the heritage site to add to an inland drive.
Grouping it into a sensible day
The simplest approach is one direction per day. A Whitby day works well around the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, Pannett Art Gallery and Staithes Heritage Centre and the Captain Cook Museum, with Beck Isle Museum or Land of Iron if you've energy left. A Scarborough day pairs the Sea Life Centre with time in town. A Bridlington day takes in the Bayle Museum and Harbour Heritage Museum. And an inland day can link Driffield Castle with Eden Camp Museum. Treat Flamingo Land and Go Ape Dalby as standalone days — they don't combine well with anything else.
Where to eat
For food with a 5-star hygiene rating, the pubs do most of the heavy lifting: The Albert, The Merchant, Turks Head and Newlands Park are all solid choices for a sit-down meal after a day out. Cooplands is the one to remember for bakery items — handy if you're putting together a picnic before a walk or a drive, or want something to take to the beach rather than sitting down indoors.
Making it a short break
Three or four nights is about right. There are 23 places to stay on BritStays in the Filey area, which gives you room to choose between something central for walking to the pub and something quieter if you're driving out each day. With that long, you can fit a family day, a heritage day, an inland day and one deliberately unplanned day for the beach.
Practical notes
- Check opening days before you travel — several of the smaller museums are seasonal.
- Book Go Ape Dalby and Flamingo Land ahead, particularly in school holidays.
- Keep one indoor option in reserve each day in case the weather turns.
- Parking is easier early; aim to arrive in Whitby or Scarborough before the mid-morning rush.
Frequently asked questions
Which attraction is actually in Filey itself?
The Scarborough Fair Collection & Vintage Transport Museum is the attraction listed in Filey, making it the easiest option for an arrival day or a morning when you don't want to drive far.
What's the best rainy-day plan from Filey?
Head for the museums. Whitby has the Captain Cook Memorial Museum, Museum of Victorian Science, Beck Isle Museum, Land of Iron, Tocketts Watermill, Pannett Art Gallery and Staithes Heritage Centre and the Captain Cook Museum. Closer by, Bridlington has the Bayle Museum and the Harbour Heritage Museum.
Where should we go with young children?
Scarborough Sea Life Centre is the most straightforward choice for younger children, as it's largely indoors and pairs well with time in Scarborough afterwards. The Scarborough Fair Collection & Vintage Transport Museum in Filey works well for mixed-age groups.
Is there anything for teenagers who find museums dull?
Go Ape Dalby is the high ropes option and suits older children and teenagers better than the smaller museums. Flamingo Land, over towards Whitby, is the theme park choice. Both are best treated as full days rather than combined with other stops.
Where can we eat with a 5-star hygiene rating?
The Albert, The Merchant, Turks Head and Newlands Park are all pubs and inns with 5-star hygiene ratings. Cooplands is the bakery option if you'd rather pick up something for a picnic or the beach.
How many nights should we book, and how many places are available?
Three or four nights lets you fit in a family day, a heritage day, an inland day taking in Driffield Castle or Eden Camp Museum, and a free day for the beach. There are 23 places to stay on BritStays in the Filey area.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Filey.