Great Ayton
![](/Images/godic/202501/16/Bridge_over_the_Leven_at_Great_Ayton_-_geograph.org.uk_-_16395164239.jpg")
![](/Images/godic/202501/16/North_Yorkshire_UK_location_map.svg4239.png")
![Looking south-west to Great Ayton from Cliff Ridge](/Images/godic/202501/16/Great_Ayton,_North_Yorkshire4239.jpg")
Great Ayton is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England, on the edge of the North York Moors. It lies 7 miles (11.3 km) southeast of Middlesbrough and 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Stokesley on the border with the unitary authorities of Redcar and Cleveland and Middlesbrough. According to the 2011 Census, it has a population of 4,629. The name Great Ayton derives from the Old English Ea-tun, tun meaning farm and ea meaning river.