Escape from it all in Filey

Filey is fortunate to have several green spaces where visitors and local residents can relax and the park known as Glen Gardens is one of the town’s greatest assets.

The area was, for centuries, part of Filey’s medieval three-field system of agriculture and shows clear indications of ridge and furrow cultivation.

In 1837 Henry Bentley of the West Riding firm of Bentley’s Yorkshire Brewery bought the land, developed the estate and built Ravine Villa as his residence.

The house, which stood where the cafe is now, was Georgian in style with a five-bay front and a Greek Doric porch – the Lodge still stands at the West Avenue entrance.

The estate was purchased in 1889 by Edwin Martin, a Huddersfield mill owner, and in 1930 it was acquired by Filey Urban District Council and its grounds were opened to the public.

The house – then known as Ravine Hall – was demolished in the 1970s and the present cafe was built soon after.

Close to the footpath on the seaward side of the gardens is a small area with seats which provides an excellent vantage point from which to view the Bay.

This is, in fact, the roof of a block-house erected at the beginning of World Ward II as part of the coastal defence system against invasion from the sea.

Glen Gardens today is a happy haven with wide open spaces which are popular with family groups, a boating pool, play equipment for children and the cafe.

How fortunate we are that the council had the foresight to purchase the gardens almost 70 years ago.