North Yorkshire, England

Redcar put-in

Launch — The put-in is the seaward end of the mapped Royal Slipway, a separate access point from the Lifeboat Slipway about 100 m west.

Parking — On-street pay-and-display on The Esplanade (TS10 3AJ) sits directly above the beach; nearby off-street car parks are Fisherman's Square (TS10 3EE, charged Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) and Majuba Road (TS10 5BJ, charged daily 8am-6pm).

Access — Level pedestrian access leads from The Esplanade promenade onto the beach. Motor vehicles may not be driven or parked on the beach or promenade without the council's permission, though its Vehicle Nuisance order exempts boat launching from that restriction. Between 1 May and 30 September a dog exclusion zone applies between The Regent cinema and where The Esplanade meets Graffenberg Street.

Season — No seasonal closure applies to the beach itself. The council's Beach Management Plan schedules recurring annual beach recovery, sea wall maintenance and slipway repairs along this frontage.

Regulations — The site lies within the statutory harbour limits of the Port of Tees and Hartlepool, controlled by PD Teesport under the Tees and Hartlepool Harbour Byelaws 1977 and 1985. No licence or registration is required for unpowered craft; PD Ports requires that paddleboarding and similar activities do not cause danger, annoyance, nuisance or inconvenience to other users, and that vessels keep to the starboard side of the navigable channel. The adjacent Redcar Rocks and Coatham Rocks lie within the Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast SSSI, where fossil collecting and hammering are restricted.

This launch is the seaward end of the Royal Slipway, a mapped slipway running from Redcar's Esplanade onto the sandy beach a short distance from the RNLI lifeboat station. Tees Bay runs from the South Gare breakwater at the Tees mouth south past Redcar to Saltburn.

Redcar Rocks and Coatham Rocks

Off the beach, Redcar Rocks and Coatham Rocks are bands of Lower Jurassic mudstone that dry towards low water and provide a feeding ground for wading birds when exposed.

Both scars lie within the Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest, recognised for the Geological Conservation Review as some of the finest exposures of Lower Lias rock in the Yorkshire Basin.

South Gare and the coast beyond

To the north-west, the South Gare breakwater guards the Tees mouth. Built between 1861 and 1884 and formally opened in 1888, it carries South Gare Lighthouse at its tip, owned and operated by PD Ports.

The wider Teesmouth and Cleveland Coast Special Protection Area and Ramsar site protects internationally important numbers of wintering and passage waterbirds off this coast, including common redshank and red knot.

Nearby

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The Zetland Cafe

Seafront cafe on The Esplanade, opposite the beach near the RNLI lifeboat station.

Conditions to check

Shallow or rocky

Redcar Rocks and Coatham Rocks dry towards low water and become dangerous about an hour after low tide.

Source

Tidal flow

Open North Sea coast with a large tidal range; incoming tides can cut off a return route around the rocks.

Source

Boat traffic

Commercial shipping uses the buoyed approach channel into the Tees estuary north-west of here, entered between the South Gare and North Gare breakwaters.

Source

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