Kilburn, North Yorkshire

The Kilburn White Horse, grid reference SE516813, is a hill figure cut into the hillside in the North York Moors National Park near Kilburn in North Yorkshire, England. The figure is 318 feet (97 m) long by 220 ft (67 m) high and covers about 1.6 acres (6,475 m2) and said to be the largest and most northerly hill figure in England.Located on the southern flank of Sutton Bank, near Roulston Scar at the edge of the Hambleton table-land, it faces south-south-west and is visible from some distance, particularly from the East Coast Main Line railway south of Thirsk, and from the A19. On a clear day, the horse is visible from north Leeds, 28 miles (45 km) away on the higher ground to the west of the Vale of York. Sutton Bank, geologically, is formed of sandstone and the horse was created by removing the topsoil and exposing the underlying rock and covering it with white limestone chips. It was created in November 1857, and some accounts state that it was done by schoolmaster John Hodgson and his pupils, together with local volunteers. A tablet erected at the car park below it reads, "The Kilburn 'White Horse' -- This figure was cut in 1857 on the initiative of Thomas Taylor, a native of Kilburn. In 1925 a restoration fund was subscribed by the readers of the Yorkshire Evening Post and the residue of £100 was invested to provide for the triennial grooming of the figure." However, Morris Marples in his 1949 book gives Thomas Taylor the credit for being the prime mover: a native of Kilburn, he was a buyer for a London provision merchant. He seems to have attended celebrations at the Uffington White Horse in 1857, and he was inspired to give his home village a similar example. Thirty-three men were involved in cutting it, and 6 tons (6.1 metric tonnes) of lime were used to whiten the exposed rock. Nowadays a car park is provided below the white horse and there is a footpath ascending past it and crossing immediately above it. The image itself is now formed of off-white limestone chips, but the steep gradient of the hillside, especially at the horse's breast and forelegs, have led to slumping and retention boards have been fixed to restrain this. The footpath offers a scenic view. The car park is located on a steeply graded minor road between Kilburn village and the Sutton Bank National Park Centre on the A170 road, and the best view of the white horse itself is from the Bagby road; benches are provided at the best vantage point to allow leisurely observation. During World War II the horse was covered over to prevent it from becoming a conspicuous navigation landmark for enemy bombers. This white horse can reputedly be seen from Julian's Bower, Alkborough in North Lincolnshire, over 45 miles (72 km) away. The horse featured in the launch video for Channel 3 North East, the rebranded version of regional ITV station Tyne Tees Television, in September 1996. The horse was repainted in 2014. The Kilburn White Horse Association, run by volunteers, handed the site to Forestry England in 2018. In 2022, the horse was resprayed at a cost of £20,000.

Wildon Grange is a civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England.

The Yorkshire Gliding Club (YGC) operate from an airfield on Sutton Bank in the North York Moors National Park, England. The airfield site is 7 miles (11 km) east of Thirsk along the A170 road and just south of the National Park visitors centre at Sutton Bank. The club formed in 1934 from an amalgamation of gliding concerns from the West Riding of Yorkshire and has been in existence for over 80 years and has had many famous fliers such as Nicholas Goodhart, Amy Johnson and Fred Slingsby.The club's location, on top of Roulston Scar and Sutton Bank over the White Horse of Kilburn, and the sheer drop away of the cliff, has made it a notable aircraft launching point. It is the most popular gliding club in the north of England.

Hood Hill is a small peak on the western side of the Hambleton Hills in North Yorkshire. The hill is 252 metres (827 ft) high, and is a layer of Coralline Oolite on top of sandstone. The hill is noted for being conically-shaped, and being part of the view westwards from Sutton Bank.

Angram Grange is a small civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, about 7 miles south-east of Thirsk. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 17. In 2015 the population was estimated at 20.The parish was originally a township in the parish of Coxwold.

Oldstead is a village and a civil parish in Ryedale district, North Yorkshire, England, within the North York Moors National Park, off the A170 road between Thirsk and Helmsley, below the Hambleton Hills. Nearby villages include Wass, Kilburn and Coxwold. Oldstead shares a parish council with Byland with Wass.

The Black Swan is a restaurant with rooms at Oldstead, in North Yorkshire, England which provides food, drink and accommodation. Its restaurant, run by chef Tommy Banks, has been awarded a Michelin Star and Four AA Rosettes. It was rated the best restaurant in the world in 2017 by TripAdvisor.

Stocking Abbey was an abbey in the village of Oldstead, North Yorkshire, England.The abbey at Stocking was built in 1147, originally for Savigniac monks, but soon became Cistercian. It was meant to be a temporary establishment as no suitable site for a permanent settlement had been found yet. The monks that worshipped at Stocking moved to Byland Abbey 30 years later in 1177.Excavations and archaeological investigations have offered evidence that the cloister and small stone church may have existed on the site of Oldstead Hall, though the proof is not conclusive.

Hood Abbey was an abbey on the grounds of today's Hood Grange, North Yorkshire, England. The abbey at Hood was known to be in existence as a hermitage since before 1138 when Roger de Mowbray granted it to a group of Austin canons, who stayed for five years before relocating to Byland Abbey. After this, it was inhabited by monks from the Bridlington area who came west to take over Roger de Mowbray's newest priory at Newburgh.The site was dissolved in the 16th century, and all that remains are two windows incorporated into one of the barns which now occupy the site.

The Hambleton Hills are a range of hills in North Yorkshire, England. They form the western edge of the North York 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 (24 km) 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 point is Black Hambleton which rises to 1,308 feet (399 m) at the northern end of the range. Roulston Scar reaches 919 feet (280 m) and Whitestone cliff is 1,063 feet (324 m). The Corallian Limestone also outcrops along the southern edge of the North York Moors forming the Tabular Hills which run from Black Hambleton eastwards to Scarborough, although much broken through by river valleys. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Hambleton Hills was the production centre for York Glazed Ware, a type of Medieval ceramic.

Hood Grange is a hamlet and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. The population was less than 100 in the 2011 Census, so details are included in the civil parish of Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe. The population of the parish was estimated at 10 in 2015. It is located near Thirsk at the foot of Sutton Bank, south of the larger village of Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe and next to Hood Hill, which is to the south. It is notable for consisting of only a single household after its population decreased rapidly in the late 19th century. Hood Grange has existed as a civil parish since 1866, prior to which the area was part of Kilburn. A monastery known as Hood Abbey existed here from before 1138 until its dissolution in the 16th century.

Shandy Hall is a writer's house museum in the former home of the Rev. Laurence Sterne in Coxwold, North Yorkshire, England. Sterne lived there from 1760 to 1768 as perpetual curate of Coxwold. He is remembered for his novels The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman and A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy.