The River Leven a tributary of the river tees flows through the village and links its two centres, high green & the low green.
The Cleveland dyke, a narrow band of hard whinstone rock that runs for about 31 miles between Robin Hood’s Bay and Eaglescliffe lies the North East village.
The Village was the boyhood home of Captain James Cook the British explorer and navigator and many notable landmarks relate to this. The Cook family home on Bridge Street was built by James father in 1755, the cottage was dismantled in 1934 to be shipped to Australia. Each stone was numbered so that the cottage could be reconstructed exactly in its new home in the Fitzroy gardens in Melbourne. A granite obelisk now marks the original site of the cottage in Great Ayton the obelisk is constructed from Granite taken from point Hix, the first land sited by Cook in Australia.
The Captain Cook Schoolroom museum is within a former charity school founded in 1704 by landowner Micheal Postgate. James Cook received his early education here from 1736-1740.
A statue located on the high green depicts James Cook at the age of 16 looking towards Staithes where according to tradition he first felt the lure of the sea. The sculpture was commissioned by Hambleton District Council and is the work of sculpture Nicholas Dimbleby. It was unveiled on the 12th of May 1997. Captain Cooks Monument is 51 ft high obelisk located of Easby Moor and visible for miles around it. It was constructed from local sandstone and was erected in 1827.
The Parish Church of Christ Church was built in 1876. It holds a number of services during the day that attracts a total of attendants of about 200. In the summer months, the evening service takes place in All Saints Church, the former Parish church which dates back to the 12th Century. The church has an organ built by James Jepson Binns. James Cook’s mother and siblings are buried in the Graveyard of the church.