Not only are fish of the present age in evidence at Staithes, but nowhere along this coast can one find better examples of those of the Jurassic period.  When the tide has exposed the scaur which runs out from Colburn Nab, at the mouth of the beck, a one can examine masses of recently fallen rocks, the new faces of which are almost invariably covered with ammonites or clusters of fossil bivalves.  The only hindrance to a close examination of these new falls from the cliffs is the serious danger of another fall occurring at the same spot.  The fisher-folk are very kind in pointing out this peril to ardent geologists and those of a less scientific outlook, who merely enjoy the exercise of scrambling over great masses of rock.  After having been warned that most of the face of the cliff above is ‘qualified’ to come down at any moment, there is a strong inclination to betake one’s self to a safe distance, where, unfortunately, the wear and tear of the waves have in most cases so battered the traces of early marine life that there is little to attack with the hammer to compare with what can be seen in the new falls.  The scaur also presents an interesting feature in its round ironstone nodules, half embedded in the smooth rocky floor.

Looking northwards there is a grand piece of coast scenery.  The masses of Boulby Cliffs, rising 660 feet from the sea, are the highest on the Yorkshire coast.  The waves break all round the rocky scaur, and fill the air with their thunder, while the strong wind blows the spray into beards which stream backwards from the incoming crests.

The upper course of Staithes Beck consists of two streams, flowing through deep, richly-wooded ravines.  They follow parallel courses very close to one another for three or four miles, but their sources extend from Lealholm Moor to Wapley Moor.  Kilton Beck runs through another lovely valley densely clothed in trees, and full of the richest woodland scenery.  It becomes more open in the neighbourhood of Loftus, and from thence to the sea at Skinningrove the valley is green and open to the heavens.  Loftus is on the borders of the Cleveland mining district, and it is for this reason that the town has grown to a considerable size.  But although the miners’ new cottages are unpicturesque, and the church only dates from 1811, the situation is pretty, owing to the profusion of trees among the houses.  Skinningrove has railway-sidings and branch-lines running down to it, and on the hill above the cottages stands a cluster of blast-furnaces.  In daylight they are merely ugly, but at night, with tongues of flame, they speak of the potency of labour.  I can still see that strange silhouette of steel cylinders and connecting girders against a blue-black sky, with silent masses of flame leaping into the heavens.