Hambleton Hills

The Hambleton Hills rise along the western edge of the North York Moors in North Yorkshire. They form a steep escarpment above the low-lying Vale of Mowbray and stretch north–south for about 15 miles. The range is capped by hard Corallian Limestone at its highest points, with Black Hambleton reaching 399 metres. Roulston Scar and Whitestone Cliff mark other notable elevations along the ridge. The hills separate the moors from the Vale of Mowbray and merge into the Cleveland and Howardian Hills at their ends. The hills hold traces of early settlement and trade. An Iron Age hill fort was built on Roulston Scar around 400 BC. The Hambleton Drove Road follows the summit, a prehistoric route later used for driving cattle from Scotland to English markets. In 1322 Sir James Douglas captured the Pass of Byland during a Scottish raid. A giant white horse was carved into the limestone above Kilburn in 1857. The poet William Wordsworth wrote about crossing the hills in 1802. James Herriot’s stories draw on the landscape around nearby Thirsk. Visitors walk the Cleveland Way, which follows the ridge from Kilburn White Horse north to Osmotherley. Views extend over the Vale of York and the Vale of Mowbray from Sutton Bank. Burial grounds from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages lie along the drove road. The remains of the Hambleton Royal Gold Cup races can still be seen near Black Hambleton. The hills form part of the North York Moors National Park, offering open moorland and limestone cliffs.