England’s best views: Roseberry Topping
Simon Jenkins chooses Roseberry Topping towards Teeside as one of England’s best views


‘Roseberry Topping is a cone at which someone has taken a swipe, a topping without a top, Yorkshire's own Matterhorn. A mound of red sandstone 320 metres high, its shape had long made it distinctive, visible from across the Vale of York as far as the Pennine dales. Then, in 1912, a geological mishap occurred. Either some subterranean earthquake or centuries of mining led the peak to collapse, leaving a raw wound of cliffs and rocks.
The summit offers views over Teesside, the Vale of York and most of the North York Moors. Most spectacular is towards Teesside with, on a clear day, the Cheviots in the far distance. In the middle distance lies the industrial belt of Thornaby, Stockton, Middlesbrough and Redcar. All this is seen over a landscape of strange serenity '
Extracted from ‘England's 100 Best Views' by Simon Jenkins, to be published by Profile books in October 2013 (£25 hardback)
* Subscribe to Country Life from just £51
* Follow Country Life magazine on Twitter
Sign up for the Country Life Newsletter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
10 outstanding British gardens from the Country Life Archive
With Chelsea Flower Show is on the horizon, we've mined the 128-year-old Country Life Archives for 10 inspiring gardens from across our Isles.
-
A rollercoaster, Bauhaus department store and Brutalist football stand top the latest Buildings at Risk List
The latest Buildings at Risk List from the Twentieth Century Society has been announced. Sunwin House department store and Blackpool’s Grand National Rollercoaster both feature.