Iconic view of Roseberry Topping, Great Ayton, North Yorkshire, England

            Roseberry Topping is a distinctive hill in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated near Great Ayton and Newton under Roseberry. Its summit has a distinctive half-cone shape with a jagged cliff, which has led to many comparisons with the much higher Matterhorn in the Swiss-Italian Alps. It forms a symbolic image of the area and featured as the logo for the now defunct county of Cleveland. At 1,049 feet, Roseberry Topping was traditionally thought to be the highest hill on the North York Moors. However, the nearby Urra Moor is higher, at 1,490 feet. It offers views of Captain Cook's Monument at Easby Moor and the monument at Eston Nab, previously a beacon.
 
The hill is on the outer edge of the North York Moors uplands. It is formed from sandstone laid down in the Middle and Lower Jurassic periods, between 208 and 165 million years ago, which constitutes the youngest sandstone to be found in any of the national parks in England and Wales. Its distinctive conical shape is the result of the hill's hard sandstone cap protecting the underlying shales and clays from erosion by the effects of ice, wind and rain. Until 1912, the summit resembled a sugarloaf, until a geological fault and possibly nearby alum and ironstone mining caused its collapse. The area immediately below the summit is still extensively pitted and scarred from the former mine works. The summit has magnificent views of the North Sea and across the Cleveland plain as far as the Pennines on a clear day, some 40 to 50 miles away. 

The small stone building on the South West flank of Roseberry Topping in the photograph is not a "Shooting Box" in spite of the plaque erected by the National Trust. The building has been dated to the 18th century and "shooting" did not become established as a country pursuit until the advent of the breech loading shotgun in the late 19th century. Opinion is it was built to enhance the landscape, in other words, a folly. 

The Roseberry area has been inhabited for thousands of years and the hill has long attracted attention for its distinctive shape. A Bronze Age hoard was discovered on the slopes of the hill and is now in the Sheffield City Museum. It was occupied during the Iron Age; walled enclosures and the remains of huts dating from the period are still visible in the hill's vicinity.
 
In 1736, explorer James Cook's family moved to Airey Holme Farm at nearby Great Ayton. When he had time off from working on the farm with his father, young James took himself off up Roseberry Topping, which gave him his first taste for adventure and exploration, which was to stay with him for life.
 
Roseberry Topping can be seen from many miles away and was long used by sailors and farmers as an indicator of impending bad weather. An old rhyme commemorates this usage: “When Roseberry Topping wears a cap, let Cleveland then beware of a clap.”

Taken in: UK / England / Hambleton / Great Ayton (show map)

Taken on: August 29, 2019

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Sets appears in: • Great Ayton

Camera: Nikon D5300, f/11.0, 1/400 sec, 46mm (=69mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D5300
Aperture:	f/11.0
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length:	46mm (35mm equivalent: 69mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Scene Capture Type:	Landscape
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384
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