De 20 bedste naturmonumenter omkring Ampleforth

Gormire Lake is a natural lowland lake that lies at the foot of Whitestone Cliff, a western escarpment of the Hambleton Hills

following on the trip there is a beautiful downhill forest path

One of only a few such mazes left in the country and the only one in Yorkshire.

Meaning "filthy swamp", there are many local legends and myths surrounding this lake, such as it is bottomless (it is 6.5m deep) and was created by an earthquake that swallowed a village resulting in the lake today (it is a glacial lake).

The public footpath down to the nature reserve from the Cleveland Way (at the location on OS maps marked as "Great Relief Pot") is reasonably steep, but can be very narrow in places with short wooden planks driven into the ground along the downward side of the path, presumably to prevent the path from eroding and collapsing. In other places there are plenty of stones and tree roots to help stabilise your ascent/descent. As you approach Gormire Lake look out for a very curious and quite large boulder that is almost an 8-10 foot high perfect cube. The nature reserve consists of ancient woodland and is very peaceful. Easy to access the water's edge at Gormire Lake.

Large car park under the White Horse, £2.50 all day as at July 2024. Free parking in a smaller off-road car park on Osgodby Bank at the southern end of Hood Hill Plantation. Very steep steps up to the top, but there is a metal handrail that alternates from the left to right side of the steps. Fabulous views from the top, although as others mention, you can only really see and appreciate the horse from the bottom of the bank.

Needs to be viewed from the bottom carpark

The Trig Point offers commanding views north across Helmsley and East Moors. On a great public footpath running from Clark Bank / Cowhouse Bank to the east, along the ridgeline at the northern tip of Rievaulx Moor, following Helmsley Bank, Rievaulx Bank, Ayton Bank and then towards Newgate Bank to the west. One of my favourite places due to the number of parking and routing options in the surrounding areas.