This walk is no more than 7 miles long on the northern edge of the North York Moors, but involves several long and quite steep gradients. It is split into two halves, one before lunch and the other after lunch.  The first half is from a car park near Captain Cook’s Monument to Roseberry Topping, a step, craggy hill with views in all directions, then down to Great Ayton.  After lunch at The Royal Oak in this village (where Captain Cook went to school) we take a long uphill trek to Captain Cook’s Monument (extensive views) then back downhill to the car park.

Start at a car park about a mile along a narrow lane from Great Ayton station (itself ¾ mile from the town centre).  Map OS Explorer OL26, North York Moors western area, ref. NZ 592110.  
It may be possible to arrange to do one or other half of the route. This involves leaving a car at Great Ayton and arranging a lift to the Captain Cook Monument car park in the morning, or from the car park to Great Ayton after the afternoon walk.

Walk details

1.    From the car park (map reference 591110), cross the road and follow a signed footpath up some steps then continuing across moorland. Later there is a stone wall to the left with areas of woodland beyond the wall and the path eventually reaches a gate with views to the north. [1950 metres] 

2.    (588127)  Go through the gate and follow the path (with stone steps in places) downhill and round to the left so that Roseberry Topping is straight ahead. Continue through a valley and up the other side then climb the steep hillside (stone steps) to the top of Roseberry Topping with views in all directions. [800m] 

3.    (579126)  Return from the summit on the same path for a short distance and find a fairly well-worn path going downhill to the right.  Follow this path down to a gate by a National Trust sign and then to the right around the side of Roseberry Topping towards a field with a small ornate stone structure. Continue along the path and into the field, passing to the left of the stone structure. [350m]  

4.    (577124)  Continue through a gate and along the left-hand edge of two cropped fields, over a stile (or through a gate) into a grass field towards the left edge of a conifer wood.  Continue through the edge of the trees to a stile on the left. [950m]

5.    (576115)  Go over the stile and find a footpath into a wood on the right. Follow the narrow path downhill through the wood, cross over another path and continue out into a grass field then along the edge of the field to a railway crossing. [600m]

6.    (570112)  Cross the railway and continue on a straight path through several gates; the muddy sections can be avoided by walking on the wall to the left of the path. Eventually the path comes out to a gate onto a road. Turn left onto the road then round a bend to the right and continue down the High St. to the Royal Oak. [900m]

7.    (561107)  Leaving the Royal Oak, turn right and continue down the High St. to a bridge across a stream near to a small weir.  Turn left across the bridge and follow the stream to a gate near the weir.  Go through the gate and turn left alongside playing fields. Continue along the path when it follows a field edge and continue through a gateway into a field crossed by power lines and continue to a gate with Captain Cook’s Monument ahead on the hill. [700m]

8.    (563102) Go through the gate and go diagonally across a grass field to a gate. Once through the gate, one option is to turn left and continue to a road then turn right for 200m [Little Ayton] then left onto a farm drive.  The other option after going through the gate is to continue along the right-hand edge of the field to a stile onto a road, turn left onto the road, go round a bend to the left, then turn right onto a farm drive and follow this to a farm coffee shop. [650m]

9.    (571104) Continue along the farm track for 400m to a railway crossing. Cross the railway and continue for a further 300m before turning right onto another track (public bridleway). Follow the bridleway track for 500m to a junction with a track on the left then continue for a further 250m to the edge of a wood. [1450m]

10.  (583104) Just inside the wood turn left onto a bridleway for 70m then turn right onto a footpath (steeply uphill through “access woodland”) leading to Captain Cook’s Monument on Easby Moor. After 350m there is a field boundary to the right of the path and after a further 150m the path emerges from woodland onto moorland for a further 150m to Captain Cook’s Monument. [total 720m]

11.  (590101) At Captain Cook’s Monument, turn left and follow the stone-paved path north towards the car park. The path becomes a compacted soil and gravel track that descends gradually over 900m to the car park. [900m, map ref. 591110]

9.    (571104)  Turn right beyond the farm coffee shop past farm buildings then take a track diagonally left (there are waymarks).  Follow the track for 600m then turn left onto a footpath across a field to a railway crossing. [total 760m]

10.  (579102) Cross the railway and follow a waymarked (?) footpath for 900 metres uphill to a junction with a public bridleway, then turn right onto the bridleway for 400 metres. [total 1300m] 

OR  

(579102) Cross the railway and follow the path diversion to the right, diagonally to the far end of the field (340m) then over a makeshift stile and through a boggy area following unofficial waymarks steeply uphill to a new wooden signpost and on uphill (600m) to meet a public bridleway and turn right onto it for a distance of 400 metres. [total 1340m]

THEN

(589098) Just past a sign to a footpath downhill to the right, take a path to the left through bracken until it meets another path.  Turn left onto this path to continue uphill to Captain Cook’s Monument. [650m]