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.

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.

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?

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.