Roseberry Topping Woodland Wildlife Walk

A circular walk of 3.3 miles (5.28 km), measured as a full loop that starts and ends at the same place, with the final stretch retracing the approach track. Reckon on about 1 hour 30 minutes at a steady pace, and treat it as moderate rather than easy. The mapped corridor measures 5,280 metres, and elevation samples along the way run between roughly 102 m and 218 m, so it is rolling rather than a single big climb.

You set off on a wide track, then climb steps through a kissing gate into Newton Wood and follow the lower woodland path. The route leaves the wood onto another wide track before entering Cliff Ridge Wood, where it climbs past an old metal gate and a waymarking sign. From there it uses stiles and kissing gates, skirts a cottage and a field, and passes a metal picture frame placed to frame the view. A set of log steps takes you up, the path drops back down through the wood, and you rejoin the lower path to return the way you came.

The payoff is the woodland itself and the changing views out towards the distinctive cone of Roseberry Topping, which rises to 1,050 feet (320 m) close by.

Boots with grip are sensible, and if you dislike stiles or awkward steps this is not the walk for you.

• Tracks and paths can be muddy, particularly in winter
• Some sections are quite steep
• Expect gates, stiles, steps and uneven ground throughout
• Not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs

Start and finish at the public car park in Newton-under-Roseberry, grid reference NZ570128, postcode TS9 6QR. Parking charges apply and the car park is not part of the conservation charity's land. Great Ayton station is about 1.5 miles away, and buses serve Newton-under-Roseberry.

This is a woodland and hillside walk, not a summit expedition. If you want the bigger day out, the separate 7.2-mile Roseberry Topping and Captain Cook's Monument route is the more ambitious option, and its landmarks are not on this shorter loop.