Cleveland Hills

The Cleveland Hills form a range on the north-west edge of the North York Moors in North Yorkshire. They rise sharply from the flat Tees Valley to the north and lie entirely within the North York Moors National Park. The hills include landmarks such as Roseberry Topping, a cone-shaped peak near Great Ayton. Part of the 110-mile Cleveland Way National Trail runs along the hills. They are also crossed by a section of Wainwright’s Coast to Coast Walk. The hills are made of stacked layers of Jurassic sedimentary rocks, with distinctive formations like the Saltwick and Cloughton sandstones. A Palaeogene basaltic andesite intrusion called the Cleveland Dyke cuts through the hills, forming ridges and quarries. Bronze Age tumuli and stone circles dot the landscape, alongside Mesolithic and Neolithic flint arrowheads. Ironstone mining in the 19th century led to rapid industrial growth in nearby Middlesbrough. Many old mines and quarries remain visible today. Visitors find scenic paths like the Cleveland Way and Coast to Coast Walk winding through the hills. Roseberry Topping offers striking views from its summit. The plateau surface is largely sandstone, while peat and glaciofluvial deposits appear in some areas. Landslips are common along the scarp face in the west. The hills also host sites like the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum and the Captain Cook Monument on Easby Moor.