The Hambleton Hills are a range of hills in North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. They form the western edge of the North Yorkshire Moors but are separated from the moors by the valley of the River Rye. They are the eastern boundary of the low lying Vale of Mowbray which they abut with a precipitous escarpment.
They run in a north south direction for about 15 miles and merge with the Cleveland Hills in the north and Howardian Hills in the south.
The hills are made up of rocks of middle and late Jurassic age with the hard Corallian Limestone forming the cap at the highest points. The highest points are Black Hambleton which rises to 380 metres, Roulston Scar reaches 280 metres and Whitestone cliff is 324 m.[1]
The Corallian Limestone also outcrops along the southern edge of the North Yorkshire Moors forming the Tabular Hills which run from Black Hambleton eastwards to Scarborough, although much broken through by river valleys.
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Sutton Bank (aka Roulston Scar) is a high point on the Hambleton Hills with extensive views over the Vale of York and the Vale of Mowbray. The hill is the site of one of the most important prehistoric monuments in the region, an Iron Age hill fort built in around 400 BC.
The Hambleton Drove Road runs along the summit of the hills, it is part of an ancient highway running from Scotland to the south of England. It is thought to be prehistoric and various burial grounds from the Neolithic and Bronze Ages are evident along its route. Large-scale movement of cattle from Scotland to market in England during the 18th and 19th centuries have given it the name by which it is known today. [2]
The Pass of Byland was seized in 1322, by the invading army of Scottish warlord James Douglas "the Good" resulting in the Battle of Old Byland which ended in the defeat of the English king Edward II's army.
In 1857 a Giant white horse hill figure was carved in the limestone above the village of Kilburn by the village schoolmaster John Hodgson.
On 4 October 1802 the poet William Wordsworth composed the poem entitled Composed After A Journey Across The Hambleton Hills, Yorkshire.[3]
The vet Alf Wight whose pen name was James Herriot famed for the All Creatures Great and Small series of books, TV programs and films, lived and worked in the nearby market town of Thirsk and many of his stories take place in the Hambleton Hills.[4]
Media related to [//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Hambleton_Hills Hambleton Hills] at Wikimedia Commons