Roseberry Directissimo

The main path up Roseberry Topping, stairway into the cloud. Deteriorating badly.

The path was improved in 1993, when a helicopter was used to airlift 200 tonnes of stone from the lane past Aireyholme Farm. The zig-zag path was then pitched using a “technique used since Roman times” and the verges revegetated¹‘Airlift job is the Tops | East Cleveland Herald & Post | Wednesday 22 September 1993 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003924/19930922/001/0001> [accessed 27 January 2023].

The work was funded by the Countryside Commission and carried out by the Cleveland County Council in conjunction with the North York Moors National Park and the National Trust. The cost was about £30,000, of which the helicopter costs amounted to about £5,000.

The stone came from a redundant drystone wall in Kildale which had been originally quarried from near Ingleby Greenhow²“Roseberry Topping”. Great Ayton Community Archaeology Project. Page 180. 2006 ISBN 978-0-9554153-0-2..

But as you can see the path is again in desparately need of repair. Plans are underway but as you would expect the major issue is funding.

The Trust’s previous major path improvement at Roseberry, in 2019, of about a mile through Newton Wood, was funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development³‘Roseberry Topping Paths | North Yorkshire’. 2019. National Trust <https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/roseberry-topping/improving-paths-at-roseberry-topping> [accessed 27 January 2023]. Enough said.

I understand that the North York Moors National Park are not open to providing any funding as the zig-zag path does not actually follow the Right of Way which is a straight line. You may need to closely scrutinise the Ordnance Survey map to appreciate this — zoom three times on the map extract below.

• 1
  ‘Airlift job is the Tops | East Cleveland Herald & Post | Wednesday 22 September 1993 | British Newspaper Archive’. 2023. Britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk <https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003924/19930922/001/0001> [accessed 27 January 2023]
• 2
  “Roseberry Topping”. Great Ayton Community Archaeology Project. Page 180. 2006 ISBN 978-0-9554153-0-2.
• 3
  ‘Roseberry Topping Paths | North Yorkshire’. 2019. National Trust <https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/yorkshire/roseberry-topping/improving-paths-at-roseberry-topping> [accessed 27 January 2023]