Roseberry Topping Yorkshire Pins and Buttons

Roseberry Topping Yorkshire travel poster in a vintage style.

The bluebells in full flower on the footpath to Roseberry Topping North Yorkshire. Roseberry Topping is a wonderful little hill (1050 feet of hard sandstone) full of character and a distinctive landmark sandwiched as it is between industrial Teesside and the North York Moors. I approached the ‘Matterhorn of Middlesborough’ on a cloudy summer’s day and climbed the hill from the car park near Great Ayton.

Roseberry Topping, at just 1,049 feet (320 m) high, Roseberry Topping may not be the biggest hill you'll ever see, but it will certainly be one of the most distinctive. Its shape, caused by the combination of a geological fault and a mining collapse in 1912 has made the hill the most beloved landmark in the Tees Valley area. With its half-cone summit and jagged cliff, some say it reminds them of the Matterhorn in Switzerland.

Roseberry Topping is instantly recognisable on the edge of the North York Moors. The present shape was created in 1912 when part of Roseberry Topping's summit collapsed. There are several routes to the top of the hill with views over the Cleveland Plain. It's suggested that the name is derived from Viking name for the hill which has been suggested as 'Odin's Rock'