Great Ayton Circuit 7.3 Miles (11.7Km) – Strenuous Circular Walk

Cleveland Way a Trail... NATIONAL TRAIL Try – Great Ayton circuit 7.3 miles (11.7km) – strenuous circular walk

Walking from Great Ayton

1 Turn right out of the Tourist 8 At the end of the woods turn 14 Cross the track, leave the 19 As you reach remnants of old Information Centre car park, right up the stone pitched path. woods and carry straight on. metal gates, turn left to drop along Newton Road and right Continue along the path to the down the path that leaves the again at the roundabout, down top of Roseberry Topping. 15 Turn right and follow the woods then turns right along the Roseberry Crescent. bridleway. field edge. 9 Drop down along the spine of 2 Turn right along the footpath the Topping and follow the 16 At the cross roads head 20 Cross the railway line and opposite no 55 Roseberry Cleveland Way, continuing straight across and up follow the clear path back to Crescent and follow the path across Roseberry Common and Aireyholme Lane. Great Ayton. through the fields to the railway up the side of Little Roseberry. 17 Turn left at the public line. 10 Go straight through the gate footpath, cross the stile and 3 Turn left and follow the wooded and straight on keeping the wall across the field. Note – If you are starting this path alongside the railway and to your right. walk from Great Ayton Station, 18 Head into Cliff Ridge Wood – cross the railway bridge and cross the bridge over it. Continue the path can be muddy here. up the track. 11 Go down the steps, turn right head up the road to pick up along the road, then left and walk the route at point 16 4 As the track bears right up the track to Captain Cook’s continue straight on up the path Monument. into the trees. 12 Turn right at the Monument 5 Where the path forks bear left. heading towards the old stone gate posts. 6 Where the path forks again bear left. 13 At the fork bear left and follow the path down into the woods. 7 Pass the field gate on your left 8 and continue straight on along 7 the path. 9 10

Great Ayton circuit Start Great Ayton Tourist Information Centre (alternative start from Great Ayton Station)

Distance 7.3 miles (11.7 km)

Height Gain 1280 feet (390m) 4 5 Steep in places 3 6 Terrain A mixture of grass paths, stone pitched paths and stone tracks. There are several stiles on route 2 19 Time 5 hours

Refreshment & public toilets Shops, pubs and toilets in Great Ayton 18 17 How to get there Great Ayton lies on the 20 A172 some 8 miles south east of Middlesbrough. There is a regular train 16 service between Whitby and Middlesbrough 11 that stops here and also regular buses to Middlesbrough and Guisborough 1 Map reproduced from Ordnance Survey digital map data © Crown Copyright 2009 All rights reserved 15 14 Licence number 0100031673 © Natural England 2009 13

0 1km (0.6mile) 12 Cleveland Way a Tra i l ... NATIONAL TRAIL Tr y – Great Ayton circuit 7.3 miles (11.7km) – strenuous circular walk

An ascent of the ‘Yorkshire Matterhorn’ and Roseberry Topping – An Cliff Rigg Quarry – Formed unusual landmark on the level from the extraction of igneous several reminders of Captain Cook mark skyline of the North York Whinstone rock. The some of the delights of this walk through Moors. A hard sandstone cap Whinstone Ridge runs in a has protected the underlying narrow band from the woodlands and across heather moorland. soft shales and clays, so while Yorkshire Coast north to the the surrounding area was worn Isle of Mull. This hard stone has away by ice, wind and rain, the been excellent for road Topping survived. Its dramatic building. summit was in part created by man’s activities. Alum, jet and Captain James Cook – One of ironstone have all been the world’s greatest quarried out of the hill and circumnavigators, went to ironstone mine workings led to school in Great Ayton and grew the collapse of the western up at Airey Hill Farm which you face in 1912. can see below Roseberry Topping. During his early years, Newton Wood – On the slopes Cook must have spent many of Roseberry Topping, is hours walking in the area, no ancient broadleaved doubt climbing Roseberry and woodland. Sessile oaks grow admiring the distant view of here, as well as rowan, ash, the North Sea. The walk also alder and sycamore trees. Its passes Captain Cook’s exact age is not known but Monument on Easby Moor, parts of the wood have existed erected in his memory in 1827. for at least 400 years. It is superb for bluebells in the Spring.

Great Ayton route profile