History of the Station Waiting Rooms Loft

Recent History

The Scarborough to Whitby railway line was opened in 1884. It linked the coastal resorts to the York / Leeds network and many holiday maker's from West Yorkshire took advantage of this new method of transport.

The Victoria Hotel and many of the Bay-top guest houses were built to accommodate the tourists arriving by rail.

As many of you will remember, Dr Beeching had some radical plans for the railway network and in 1963 the Scarborough/Whitby line was one of the many to face closure under his "rationalisation" plan. The last train to run through Robin Hoods Bay was in 1965.

Soon after the closure of the line, Station Waiting Rooms was used as a meeting place for the elders of Robin Hoods Bay. This continued until the early 1990's when the village hall became the new "Old Folks" club and Station Waiting Rooms was offered for sale.

I was fortunate in being able to buy the property and for the first two seasons a good friend of mine, Martin (Lobby) Robinson rented the premises. His entrepreneurial spirit gave rise to an art gallery during the first season and a cafe/gallery in year two.

After Lobby moved on and got married I used the Waiting Rooms as a weekend retreat. I restored the building and after a few years decided to make use of an area that I had always felt had a lot of potential and so in 1999 the 'Loft' was born.

It was converted by Straws Builders (RHB) and the results are better than I could have hoped for. There is 12" of Rockwool between the ground floor and the loft, therefore sound insulation isn't a problem.

The loft has lots of natural light and there are spectacular views both from the dining area and from the Velux balcony windows in the lounge area. Great care and attention has been taken during all phases of the design and construction work and all planning, building and fire regulations have been met or exceeded.

The result is a feel of quality, spaciousness and tranquility.