Shortly after collcting this cache you should be rewarded with a fine view of Roseberry Topping. It's a sight that has inspired many local poets in the past as we shall see. Hopefully it will inspire you too. We'd love to read your poems about Roseberry or Geocaching in your logs!
Thomas Pierson
Thomas Pierson was one of the first to take inspiration from Roseberry for a poetic work. In 1783 this schoolmaster, blacksmith and gun smith from Stockton had published an epic poem entitled Roseberry Toppin’, or the Prospect of a Summer’s Day. It included the following lines:
‘This rocky mount, pyramidal and steep,
Fit spot, fair feat of sage philosophy,
Let ev’ry sophist climb sometimes ascend,
This rural feat may curious thoughts employ;
The wise Philosopher may travel here,
Search Nature’s secrets, see her wonders great,
In every stone, each pebble, speck minute,
The shaggy woods, the precipice below,
Art, science grows – in that small village mean,
Even dirty Newton, fixed in the vale.
The grave Astronomer may wander far,
The planets mark, or view the Atmosphere,
Tell each new Star, the Sun and Moon behold,
The sapphire-arch illum’d with golden gems,
Learn horizontal lines, see worlds around,
Celestial Orbs, or Things upon this Earth.’
Ebenezer Elliott
Ebenezer Elliott is one of the better known poets to have written about Roseberry. Born in 1781, this Sheffield iron dealer became know as the Corn Law Rhymer due to the radical poetry he wrote opposing the Corn Law. His poem 'Love' includes some lines on Roseberry and the inspiration it provided the young Captain Cook:
‘When Cook, a sailor's boy, with aching eye,
Gazed from the deep on oft-climb'd Roseberry,
While, trembling as she listen'd to the blast,
His anxious parent sea-ward wishes cast,
And fervent pray'r was mute, but not suppress'd,
Though love was resignation in her breast;
Why did'st thou not—thou happiest name of joy!
Bid her cheer'd spirit see that deathless boy
Bear round the globe Britannia's flag unfurl'd,
And from th' abyss unknown call forth a world?’
John Walker Ord
John Walker Ord is Best known as a Cleveland historian. He also published poetry however. One collection published in 1842 included a sonnet To Roseberry:
‘Cleveland, each Yorkshire vale salutes thee king,
And thou art watch-tower for the roaring sea;
Hundreds of ship-wrecked tars have looked to thee
As through the howling billows they did swing:
Thou soarest aloft, as with an eagle’s wing,
Elate with looks of mountain sovereignty.
Spring’s earliest clouds rest on thy forehead free,
Spring’s youngest flowers commence their blossoming
Within thy bowers:- to thee birds first sing!
And thou hast joyous pastures, verdant plains,
Groves for thy subjects, mountains for thy slaves;
Yea, the fierce storms salute thee, mighty thing:
Within thy cliffs the lordly eagle reigns –
Cliffs coeternal with the winds and waves!’
John Ryley Robinson
Victorian poet John Ryley Robinson was born in Dewsbury in 1829 but was clearly impressed by his visit to Roseberry. His poem Rosebury Topping contains the lines:
‘Oh! How indelibly a lovely view
Imprints itself upon our memory.
For who can climb thy summit, and from thence
Behold that prospect, so enchanting, spread
Before his wondering gaze, nor feel its power
To cheer the mind and elevate the soul?’
James Milligan
James Milligan’s 1881 poem The Hills and Vale of Cleveland contains these lines:
‘Oft during the warm summer months
Gay parties may be seen
Wending their way up Rosebury,
As blithe as king or queen.
To enjoy themselves they each strive:
Thus some play harmless games,
Whilst others on Rosebury rocks
Delight to carve their names.
Some love to sit beside the wellf
And sip from its clear spring,
And think of the ancient legend
Poets are wont to sing.’
This is a regular cache with plenty of room for swaps, travelbugs or geocoins.