Cleveland Hills

The Cleveland Hills
IUCN category II (national park)
The Cleveland Hills viewed from Urra Moor
Cleveland Hills Location of the Cleveland Hills
Location	North Yorkshire, England
Nearest city	Middlesbrough, England
Coordinates	54°24′57.84″N 1°12′4.53″W / 54.4160667°N 1.2012583°W / 54.4160667; -1.2012583Coordinates: 54°24′57.84″N 1°12′4.53″W / 54.4160667°N 1.2012583°W / 54.4160667; -1.2012583
Governing body	North York Moors National Park Authority
Website	northyorkmoors.org.uk

The Cleveland Hills are a range of hills on the north-west edge of the North York Moors in North Yorkshire, England, overlooking Cleveland and Teesside. They lie entirely within the boundaries of the North York Moors National Park. Part of the 110-mile (177 km) long Cleveland Way National Trail runs along the hills, which is a part of Wainwright's Coast to Coast Walk. The hills, which rise abruptly from the flat Tees Valley to the north, include distinctive landmarks such as the cone-shaped peak of Roseberry Topping, near the village of Great Ayton – childhood home of Captain James Cook.^[1]

History

Formation

Geological studies of the Cleveland Hills plateau date the rocks back to the Middle Jurassic age, making the range approximately 161–176 million years old,^[2] although the North York Moors are formed on rocks from the Lower Jurassic age resulting in shale erosion along the north and west faces of the hills. Roseberry Topping is an outlier which was formed as a result of erosion, separating it from the Cleveland Hills formation, making it a unique natural hill.^[3]

Early man

There are a number of tumuli and stone circles^[4] scattered throughout the Cleveland Hills and North York Moors, dating back to the Bronze Age, as well as many cairns that are of varied ages, some of which are relatively modern. Hundreds of flint arrowheads have been discovered during excavations in the hills and dated to the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods, indication of an active population in prehistoric times across the region.^[5]

Stone circles in the Cleveland Hills

• Commondale
• Tripsdale "Bride Stones"
• Thimbleby "Nine Stones"

Mining and industry

In 1850 ironstone was discovered by John Marley of Bolckow and Vaughan in the Eston Hills, outliers of the Cleveland Hills, leading to mining on a large scale and the rapid growth of nearby Middlesbrough.^[6][7] By the 1870s industry would be producing steel in vast amounts, and mining for coal, alum, jet, cement stone concretions, shale and potash from the hills, as well as employing sandstone and limestone quarries to gather raw materials. Many of the mines and quarries are still evident today.

Hill data

The following heights are some of the highest or most notable in the range.

Towns and villages in the Cleveland Hills

Map of the North York Moors area

There are numerous towns and villages on, or in the vicinity of, the Cleveland Hills including the following:

Interesting places to see

• Captain Cook Monument, Easby Moor
• Captain Cook Schoolroom Museum, Great Ayton
• Roseberry Topping
• Wainstones, Hasty Bank^[8]

Bilsdale West Moor, situated in the Cleveland Hills, is home to the 314 metres (1,030 ft) tall Bilsdale transmitting station, providing 40–50 miles coverage of UHF transmissions for digital TV and radio in the north-east's Tyne Tees region.^[9] The digital switchover at Bilsdale was completed in two stages, on 12 and 26 September 2012, one of the last transmitters in England to complete this operation, the others being Pontop Pike and Chatton in the same region.^[10]

See also

• List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cleveland
• List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in North Yorkshire

References

External links

• North York Moors National Park
• North York Moors and Cleveland Hills