Ros Hill

Ros Hill
Northumberland
Ros Hill from the road across Hepburn Moor
Range:	Chillingham Hills
Summit:	1,033 feet NU081253 55°31’17"N, 1°52’24"W

Ros Hill, also known as Ros Castle is a hill of 1,033 feet in Northumberland.

Ros Hill is the highest point of a low range of hills stretching from Alnwick to Berwick-upon-Tweed known as the Chillingham Hills, which stands as foothills to the Cheviots. Other tops of the Chillingham Hills include Titlington Pike, Dod Law and Doddington Northmoor. Ros Castle is significantly higher than these and towers over the surrounding landscape with enough relative height to ensure its listing as a 'Marilyn'.

Ros Hill rises just above Chillingham, with its famous herd of cattle. Due to the wide enclosure of the cattle there are no paths on the western slopes, and the eastern slopes are featureless moor, so the best ascent option is to park at the summit of the minor road that crosses Hepburn Moor just to the south of the summit, giving a walk just over half a mile long and taking about half an hour.

Fort and summit

The summit of the hill is crowned with a 3,000-year-old Iron Age hill fort, which gives the hill its alternative name, Ros Castle.

The summit itself is marked by a trig point and nearby there is a rather unusual walk-in toposcope built into the wall with four separate plaques. The view is panoramic and very extensive, and on a clear day, a total of seven castles can be seen from the summit, including the one on Holy Island. There is also a view over the cattle park.

Outside links

• Ros Castle on Northumberland Tales