Wednesday 17 May 2017

Climbing Roseberry Topping, North Yorkshire

A visit from our friend Lauren gave us the ideal opportunity to tick something off my 40 Before 40, list and what better way to start than with an adventure into the North Yorkshire countryside to climb Roseberry Topping.

Climbing Roseberry Topping


After gently breaking the news to Simon that Roseberry Topping wasn't some kind of delicious treat poured over an ice-cream sundae (he's still gutted!) and was in fact North Yorkshire's most famous hill for hikers, we pulled on our walking boots and climbed into our little car ready for a great adventure. 

You'll find Roseberry Topping between Great Ayton and Newton Under Roseberry on the edge of North Yorkshire. Towering 1,049 feet over the beautiful Cleveland landscape, the summit promises to reward climbers with stunning views. On a clear day you can see for miles.

Climbing Roseberry Topping


We easily found the public carpark at Newton Under Roseberry (just tap TS9 6QR into your satnav) which offers access to the footpath leading to Roseberry Topping. There are a few easy to follow routes up the hill so it's not necessary to download a walking map although we decided to follow the National Trust's two mile Roseberry Topping and Newton Wood walk.

I'll admit as we set off down the footpath to the foot of the hill I did begin to feel a little nervous. I'm no great climber and suddenly Roseberry Topping was looking pretty huge.  What on earth had we let ourselves in for?

Climbing National Trust Roseberry Topping, North Yorkshire


Our climb started with a gentle hike up some stone steps that were pretty easy to navigate. We stopped a few times to appreciate the views of the brightly coloured yellow and green fields behind us which meant we always had plenty of puff to carry on with our mission ahead. When climbing a hill always stop to admire the views, it's a great sneaky excuse for a breather!

Climbing Roseberry Topping, North Yorkshire
We found the best way to tackle Roseberry Topping was to always look at our feet and plan our next step rather than looking at what was towering above us. As we got nearer to the top and saw the rocky summit I have to admit I was quite worried about what was going to happen towards the end of our climb. I had images of us having to scale a huge rock and even found myself nervously asking a few people passing us on their way back down what the top was like.

As we began to make our way towards the summit the terrain got a little trickier. There was a clear path to follow but it was gravelly at times which made us thankful we were wearing shoes with good grip - you definitely wouldn't want to be climbing Roseberry Topping in slippery conditions.

Climbing Roseberry Topping, North Yorkshire


Chloe, the great adventurer, definitely lost her nerve a couple of times as we scrabbled our way up to the top. The last few steps involved a fair bit of balance, leg strength and determination and there were a few moments when I felt a bit lost as to where to put my foot to give myself the ability to get up the rocks.

I think my final moments of the climb are captured beautifully by Lauren who took this sneaky photo on her phone as I clambered my way up. I was clinging onto Simon for dear life as he helped pull me up a few of the trickier rocks.  What a gent!

Climbing Roseberry Topping, North Yorkshire


The climb was over as quickly as it had begun and as we pulled ourselves up to the summit we were greeted by the most beautiful views.

Climbing Roseberry Topping, North Yorkshire


Although windy at the top there were plenty of families sheltering under the rocks feasting on sandwiches and flasks of tea. It really is a beautiful spot to enjoy your lunch and although there were a fair few people up there it felt so peaceful, everyone seemed to be truly in awe at the perfect views.

Sitting down on a rock with my feet freely dangling over the edge I felt like I was sitting on top of the world.

Climbing Roseberry Topping, North Yorkshire
We began our climb down the opposite side of the hill where gravity more or less pulled us down at great speed.  Passing a few people who were on their way up it was good to give those that were struggling reassuring smiles. 

Our reward for surviving Roseberry Topping was a beautiful stroll through Newton Wood back to the carpark. Springtime had gifted the woods with a beautiful blanket of bluebells as far as the eye could see and we enjoyed stretching our legs on a nice flat surface whilst enjoying the stunning display.

Climbing Roseberry Topping, North Yorkshire - Newton Wood


Finding a great bluebell display had actually been next on my list of weekend adventures so Simon was pretty chuffed that I'd manage to do a two in one with our trip. Even if you don't fancy climbing Roseberry Topping, Newton Wood is a great spot for a stroll through the bluebells.

Climbing Roseberry Topping, North Yorkshire - Newton Wood Bluebells


Climbing Roseberry Topping, North Yorkshire - Newton Wood Bluebells
As you can imagine all of that climbing was pretty hard work so a good hearty lunch was definitely in order.  The King's Head at the bottom of Roseberry Topping looked really cute but we decided it would probably be pretty busy with walkers so we decided to take the advice of Twitter and headed to the Whinstone View Bistro a few miles up the road.

I didn't know much about Whinstone View before our visit but I was blown away by how picture perfect it is. They host weddings (which look beautiful!), have their own spa and even have romantic log cabins with hot tubs which I'm now desperate to stay in!

Once I'd finished ooohing and aaahing over the spa and lodges we settled down for some food. With an extensive menu to choose from there were so many dishes that I wanted to try but as soon as I spotted the Croque Madame Topped with Fried Egg (£8.00) I knew I had to order it.  Wow so good, and the beautifully crispy sweet potato fries were heaven.

Climbing Roseberry Topping, North Yorkshire - Whinstone View



We loved our little adventure into the North Yorkshire countryside and I am so happy that I've managed to tick something off my 40 Before 40 list, I'm so excited to see what I'll tick off next.

I'd love to hear if any of you have climbed Roseberry Topping and your experiences.

For more adventures across the North East from New Girl in Toon be sure to check out my Instagram here.

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12 comments

  1. Ooh this is definitely something I'll add to my list of things to do - I love a good walk and this is probably only a couple of hours drive from me. My only problem with climbing up things is I lose my nerve coming back down! Sounds ridiculous but I'm always nervous of falling on the way down!
    Amy xx
    www.callmeamy.co.uk

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    1. YES, I was so nervous coming down! The gravelly bits get a bit slippy when gravity is pushing you down, but it definitely wasn't as scary as I thought!

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  2. Oh yay! Gary's from one of the tiny villages overlooked by Roseberry. It's beautiful isn't it?! One of my fave places in the world! xx

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  3. What makes a Croque Madame rather than Monsieur? I would really like to find a bluebell wood this weekend now I've seen these photos! Good effort with the climb! Alice xxx

    www.woodenwindowsills.co.uk

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    1. I think it's the fried egg on top? I think there are other types of "Croque" you can get as well!

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  4. What an adventure! I love all of your photographs. How long did it take to climb from the bottom to the top in total? Is it (older) child friendly do you think? Tweet me the answer :-)

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  5. Ahhhhh so lovely to read! It is actually so scary that last little part at the top isn't it! I came back down that way too and almost broke my backside falling back on myself as it's so steep!! The view makes it so worthwhile though doesn't it!! You were so close to Middlesbrough too! You will have to come for a visit soon! :) x

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    1. YES! I was a huge baby! I literally got stuck at one point! Definitely heading to Middlesbrough soon, I really want to check out the monthly food market!

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  6. I've been past so many times on the way to Scarborough and never been up! the little village of GReat Ayton at the base is lovely and has many nice tea shops!

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  7. I think this is on our list for this year - so I get to see the kids fearlessly spring ahead of me while I cower from the scary heights, eek!

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  8. Roseberry Topping is near to us so it's a fairly regular trip out. I once climbed it in the snow around the time the first Lord of the Rings film came out and remember how beautiful the fields looked covered in snow with the light reflecting off them - it was like something from LoTR!

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