Roel Hill

Rising above the quiet village of Hawling, this high Cotswold plateau offers a classic taste of the wold’s open, agricultural character. A Tump defined by gentle gradients rather than sharp peaks, it provides expansive views across the Isbourne Valley toward the prominent masts atop Cleeve Hill to the west.

• •The name Roel is derived from the Old English 'hrōh' and 'hyll', meaning 'rough hill', which likely described the uncultivated, scrubby state of the high wold before the enclosure of the surrounding fields.
• •The hill is inextricably linked to the 'lost' medieval village of Roel. Once a significant community listed in the Domesday Book, it was depopulated in the 15th century as land use shifted from communal arable farming to private sheep grazing.
• •From the summit area, walkers can look across the valley to the distinctive profile of Sudeley Hill, where the Neolithic long barrow of Belas Knap sits prominently on the skyline.
• •The summit is located on high ground near Roel Farm, where the landscape is so quintessentially Cotswold that the only thing missing is a dry stone wall in the middle of the path—though there are plenty nearby to navigate around.
• •Despite its modest elevation, the hill forms part of the significant watershed between the River Isbourne, which flows north toward the Avon, and the Windrush, which feeds into the Thames.