Roseberry Topping

"Roseberry Topping is a cone at which someone has taken a swipe, a topping without a top" 

England's 100 Best Views, Simon Jenkins 

And no...this is not a blogpost about a dessert :)

So we finally feel a little more at home on our new terrain.

We really do miss being so close to the Lake District. Now 2 hours just seems too far a trek for the weekend.

We decided to plant ourselves further south close to the North York Moors, starting with a little hill called Roseberry Topping.

 

The autumn hues were stunning. There was a gentle breeze now and again but the air was otherwise gratifyingly calm. The perfect weather for our first walk in a long while.

It was a steep climb up for an elevation of up to 230m which certainly kept us quiet as we concentrated on catching our breath. The whole walk as a circular route was only about 2 miles. It was more than comfortable. Our thoughts brought us back to gruelling climbs up Blencathra, Helvellyn and Tryfan (to name a few)...yes, we were glad for this cute and modest summit.

And my, for that little bit of effort, we were rewarded with breath-taking views of Teeside. The rays of the sun as it was setting cast a beautiful emerald green across the moors - even the industrial belt of Middlesbrough in the distance looked strangely alluring.

The winds caused the landscape to change with the sunlight being thrown in different directions as the clouds marched past. A wonderful display that definitely lifted our spirits that day.

And so we've fallen in love with another place :) I guess it's not hard to when you catch a beautiful day like this at the tail end of autumn...