Roseberry Topping. On the edge of the Moors.

Roseberry Topping from the South

Capt Cook's monument on Easby Moor

Under bright blue skies and glorious sunshine we set of for Great Ayton to start a lovely afternoon 7 mile walk.  We parked in the little town and once booted up, and with GPS switched on (still learning), off we went. The weather was absolutely wonderful for November; we were soon warm enough to strip down to T-shirts.  Leaving Great Ayton and heading for Roseberry Topping, the fields were beautifully green in the sun.  We could see the Cook Monument up on Easby Moor to our right, and were lucky enough to catch sight of a couple of deer in a field to our left.

Woods in the November sun 

Then, across the railway line and up the hill through the lovely little Cliff Ridge wood. The trees and autumn leaves were quite wonderful.

The walk up to Roseberry Topping

Next we walked along the top of the hill towards Roseberry Topping.  Info from Wikipedia.  As we approached we saw an interesting little folly, which seemed to make most visitors stop and wonder about it.  I checked it out when we got back, and according to the Wiki it is actually an old hunting lodge.  

Then it was up Roseberry Topping, with its distinctive shape.  It’s not overly high and obviously the place to visit on a sunny day in November.  There were loads of people there, families and groups, large and small.  The wind was visiting too, sharp and cold.

View north east from Roseberry Topping

We didn’t stop for long, too many people about.  The edge of that cliff is scary but the views around you are extensive.  You’ve got the sea to the north east, the moors east and south, flatness to the west and the industry and urban terrain of Middlesborough to the North.

From there we went west heading for Newton Moor then south to walk down the on the edge of Slacks Wood.  On our left glorious, extensive, bleak heather moorland complete with noisy grouse.

James Cook Monument

On our right the pine trees and decimation of a commercial wood. We came across a group or riders out on a hunt.  There weren’t any hounds, so I am not sure what they were “hunting”.  Horses and riders looking all spruce and brushed up was very lovely to see.

As the sky started to cloud over we moved on and aimed for our next point to visit,  Captain Cook’s monument.  It turns out that the man who discovered Australia used to climb Roseberry Topping to get away from it all. Wikipedia James Cook Early Life

Now which way? 

The last part of the walk was to follow the path in a big zig zag down the bank to Easby Wood.  Not successful, because near the wood, the way through the bracken just disappeared……We'd seen little yellow way marks...... but the path just stopped?  At this point, because we knew it was going to get dark soon, we opted to change our route and follow the tracks and roads back to the car.  So we headed directly for Southbrook Farm and from there took the lane back to Great Ayton, arriving just as the sun disappeared.

A really lovely afternoon walk, made so much better by the beautiful blue sky and warm sunshine. Now I can finally say I’ve been to Roseberry Topping.