An amazing view, with a Captain Cook connection

AS STUNNING views go, this one from the Lordstones Country Park, in the North York Moors National Park, must be up there with among the best in England.

The privately-owned country park boasts glamping and camping facilities to help visitors get away from it all in a stunning location, as well as a shop, cafe and restaurant on site.

The view over the countryside looks out towards a famous local landmark – Roseberry Topping, which is looked after by the National Trust. The unique hill with its distinctive profile may cut an imposing figure on the horizon, but is only one-third the size of Scafell Pike.

Its history includes a connection with explorer and navigator Captain James Cook, who was born in 1728 in the village of Marton which is now a suburb of Middlesbrough.

The National Trust website explains: “In 1736, when he was still a young boy, his family moved to Airey Holme Farm, just to the south of Roseberry Topping.

“For the first five years he was here he attended the local school in Great Ayton. The school is now a museum where you can learn more about Cook and his early life.

“After he finished his schooling in 1741 he started to work for his father as a farmhand.

“It’s during this time that he made regular expeditions to the summit of Roseberry Topping.

“These early walks are said to have given him the taste for adventure and exploration that were to stay with him for the rest of his life. You can certainly imagine that the views from the top might have led him to wonder what lay beyond the horizon.

“Cook eventually left Airey Holme Farm in 1745 when he moved to the fishing village of Staithes to work as a grocer. This clearly wasn’t the career him and, after 18 months, he left for Whitby to join the merchant navy and begin his life on the sea.

“Captain Cook’s Monument, a 16m-high obelisk erected in his honour on Easby Moor can be seen to the south from the summit of Roseberry Topping.”

Technical information: Nikon D850, 70-200mm lens with an exposure of 1/500th second at f11, ISO 200.