The Ship Inn, Saltburn

Early morning, a sleepy Saltburn braces itself for a hot day and the inevitable bank holiday crowds. It is said there used to be four inns in the tiny hamlet of old Saltburn: The Seagull, The Dolphin, The Nimrod and The Ship. Today only The Ship remains, reputed to be a smugglers’ haunt dating to the 13th-century. Many of the old cottages stood to the right of the Ship at the foot of Cat Nab and were demolished when the bridge over Skelton Beck was built to connect with new developments centred around Henry Pease’s Zetland Hotel. Until then old Saltburn was only accessible from Brotton and Skelton.