Skelton Tower

A small, roofless stone shell on the lip of Corn Hill Point, sitting on a grassy headland that drops away into Newtondale. The view is the reason to come: a long, deep, wooded valley with the North Yorkshire Moors Railway threading along the bottom, far enough below that a steam locomotive looks like a model. The ruin itself takes two minutes to look over. The headland beside it can hold you for an hour.

Built around 1830 for the Reverend Robert Skelton, then rector of Levisham, as a shooting lodge with overnight lodgings after a day on the moors. It is a square, two-storey, single-bay building in dressed sandstone, Grade II listed, and long since part ruined. Look for the pointed windows, stubs of iron glazing bars still set in the stone, the remains of a plain interior stair, and a small fireplace at first-floor level. A rector's private hunting retreat is an odd thing to find alone on open moorland, and that oddity is much of the appeal.

The ruin is not extensive, so come for the setting rather than the architecture. The approach includes uneven ground and a short steep section, and the summit is fully exposed to wind and rain with no shelter. Bring sturdy footwear, water, weatherproof layers, and a map or offline route, since this is open moorland where paths are easy to misread. Do not count on the walk being suitable if you need level, surfaced going.