The Tabular Hills form an east–west line along the southern bounds of the

North York Moors The North York Moors is an upland area in north-eastern Yorkshire, England. It contains one of the largest expanses of Calluna, heather moorland in the United Kingdom. The area was designated as a national parks of England and Wales, National P ...

, between

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

in the east and Black Hambleton in the west. The name refers to their flat summits composed of hard

Corallian limestone The Corallian Group or Corallian Limestone is a geologic group in England. It is predominantly a coralliferous sedimentary rock, laid down in the Oxfordian stage of the Jurassic. It is a hard variety of "coral rag". Building stones from this geol ...

, known locally as "nabs". They form the northern boundary of the

Vale of Pickering The Vale of Pickering is a low-lying flat area of land in North Yorkshire, England. It is drained by the River Derwent. The landscape is rural with scattered villages and small market towns. It has been inhabited continuously from the Mesolithic ...

Description

Steep-sided river valleys break through the Tabular Hills to form a broken series of tablet-shaped hills. The most distinctive feature is their northern

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

, which rises to about 200 ft (60 m) above the moorland to the north. At their western end, beyond the River Rye, they join with the north-south

Hambleton Hills 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 M ...

, which have a similar geological basis. Striking among the river valleys are

Newton Dale Newton Dale is a narrow dale within the North York Moors National Park in North Yorkshire, England. It was created by meltwater from a glacier carving the narrow valley. Water still flows through the dale and is known as Pickering Beck. The dal ...

and

Forge Valley Forge Valley is a national nature reserve (United Kingdom), national nature reserve in the Scarborough (borough), Scarborough district of North Yorkshire, England, located within the North York Moors National Park on the East Ayton / Hackness r ...

– deep channels formed when an exit to the North Sea for glacial meltwater was denied by the North Sea ice-sheet, pouring over the lowest points in the local landscape during the last ice age and cutting steeply sided channels. The

Hole of Horcum The Hole of Horcum is a section of the valley of the Levisham Beck, upstream of Levisham and Lockton, in the Tabular Hills of the North York Moors National Park in northern England. Etymology Early forms of the name include ''Hotcumbe'', ''Hol ...

is a scallop-shaped valley formed by the action of a line of springs.

Tabular Hills walk

The Tabular Hills walk loosely links the two southerly ends of the Cleveland Way National Trail, enabling walkers to walk the complete perimeter of the

North York Moors National Park North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

. It runs from

Helmsley Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale of Pi ...

in the west to Scalby Mills on the North Sea coast and measures . It crosses sparsely settled countryside between Scalby and

Levisham Levisham is a small village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, located within the North York Moors National Park about north of Pickering. At the 2011 Census the population was less than 100. Details are incl ...

and then touches the villages of

Newton-on-Rawcliffe Newton-on-Rawcliffe is a village and civil parish (as Newton) in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is in the North York Moors National Park North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposi ...

Cropton Cropton is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the border of the North York Moors National Park, north-west of Pickering. History The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book as having th ...

Appleton-le-Moors Appleton-le-Moors is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 183, reducing to 164 in the 2011 census. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshir ...

Hutton-le-Hole Hutton-le-Hole is a small village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, about north-west of Pickering. It is a popular scenic village within the North York Moors National Park. Sheep roam the streets at will. ...

Gillamoor Gillamoor is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of the county of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated about north of Kirkbymoorside on the edge of the North York Moors National Park. The population of the parish as taken a ...

Fadmoor Fadmoor is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. It is on the border of the North York Moors and north of Kirkbymoorside. The name Fadmoor comes from Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxo ...

and Carlton.

References

External links

* * {{coord, 54.300, -0.825, dim:30000_region:GB, display=title Mountains and hills of North Yorkshire North York Moors