Guisborough

Guisborough is a small town near Middlesbrough in North East England, part of the administrative county of Redcar and Cleveland. The town has a long history - it is listed in the Domesday Book and has a ruined priory dating back to the 12th century. The priory's name is usually spelt without the first U, as that was the old spelling of the town's name. Some other old sites use the same convention.

Other historic sites include Saint Nicholas' Anglican Church, built mainly from stone taken from the priory and Gisborough Hall, the ancestral home of Lord Gisborough, which now serves as a hotel and a popular venue for wedding receptions.

Two main roads cross at Guisborough, the A171 and the A173. The A171 leads west to Middlesbrough and east to Whitby whilst the A173 goes south-west to Stokesley and north-east as far as Skelton where it joins the A174 coast road. Before the bypass was built, traffic on both of these had to pass through the town. Just outside the bypass to the north-east, a b-road heads north from the A173 to Redcar. As well as these, there is a short road that ends in a cul-de-sac at Hutton Village, really only a hamlet. There is yet another route out of the town - Wilton Lane, a very windy almost single-track which leads north to the small village of Wilton, whence one can either join the A174 or continue onto the ICI Wilton chemical works.

For those travelling on foot, the south of the town is bounded by the North York Moors National Park. The Guisborough Woods, which is Forestry Commission land. In the woods, the ground rises sharply and at one point forms a cliff, known as Highcliffe. The woods are crossed by several rights-of-way, including the Cleveland Way, though other paths and commission tracks are considered fair game for walkers. Beyond the woods, the ground levels out to form Gisborough Moor.