Working Class Hero, David C Wray: Sutton Bank and the Kilburn White Horse Nov 2

Car Parking can be found at the top of Sutton Bank

Sutton Bank National Park Centre, which has been given a hi-tech makeover for 2012. A fascinating exhibition will take you on a journey through time to discover how this iconic landscape was created and the influence it’s had on people through the ages.

The new Lime & Ice exhibition tells the story of how our iconic landscape and view came to be through the dramatic action of ice age glaciers. Find out about millions of years of Sutton Bank in the making through a stunning CGI film, narrated by earth historian Professor Aubrey Manning or read at your leisure about some of the amazing landscape features around the area.

This is a view across to the Whitestone Cliffe

Sutton Bank, also known as Roulston Scar, is a hill in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire in England. It is a high point on the Hambleton Hills and the North York Moors 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—a massive hillfort built in the Iron Age, around 400 BC.

The Yorkshire Gliding Club

Because it faces the prevailing westerly winds, Sutton Bank has been used for ridge soaring since the early 1930s for the sport of gliding. The Yorkshire Gliding Club is based at the top of the hill.

Powered Aircraft

Two Piper Pawnees provide the front-line aerotow facility.

The circular club house

Piper Pawnee aircraft returning to the club

There have been many distinguished names associated with the Yorkshire Gliding Club over the years. Phillip Wills, former world champion, and Fred Slingsby, founder of Slingsby Aviation, were two key members who initially negotiated the lease of the land at Sutton Bank. Norman Sharpe also had a profound influence on the development of the club.

This is a misty view across the vale of York

And on we go heading for the famous Kilburn white horse

The RAF memorial Sutton Bank

The insrcription reads "1939-1945.

This plaque is a memorial to the aircrews of all allied nations who lost their lives in the surrounding countryside not least the crew of Halifax bomber JD105 10Sqn Melbourne which crashed within half a mile of this site, May 5th 1943.

Also in memory of the pilot of an F86 Sabre XD773 92Sqn Linton On Ouse September 21st 1954.

Lest we forget"

The Whitestone cliffe

Crag features

Allegedly formed by a huge landslip early in the 18th century. Great views over the Vale of York.

The Kilburn Whitehorse

The Kilburn White Horse, grid reference SE516813, is a hill figure cut into the hillside 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 (6,475.0 m²) and said to be the largest and most northerly hill figure in England.^[1]

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 northLeeds, 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 school master 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."