Bewcastle is one of the loneliest places in Cumbria, and it has been for a very long time. Roman soldiers built an outpost fort here, about ten kilometres north of Hadrian's Wall, on a plateau whose shape the walls followed, giving it an unusual six-sided plan. It was a forward base for scouts watching the tribes beyond the frontier, and it was linked to the Wall at Birdoswald by a road. Later, a medieval castle was built into one corner of the old Roman defences, and its broken walls still stand above the beck.
The real treasure is in the churchyard of St Cuthbert. The Bewcastle Cross, carved in the late seventh or eighth century, has lost its head, but the shaft still stands where it was raised, covered in vine scrolls, chequer patterns, figures of Christ and John the Baptist, and a runic inscription. Along with the Ruthwell Cross across the Solway, it is counted among the finest surviving pieces of Anglo-Saxon sculpture anywhere, and seeing it out in the weather, in a field at the end of the world, is part of its power.
Getting here is half the fun. From Brampton the lanes climb north through Lanercost, Banks and Roadhead into open moorland, narrowing to single track with passing places, cattle grids and gates. The surface is mixed, with gravel and moss in the middle of the lane, and blind crests where you meet a farm truck at the worst moment. The rewards are huge skies, curlews in spring, the edge of Kielder Forest on the horizon, and almost no traffic. This was the heart of the reiver country, the debatable borderland where families like the Armstrongs and Elliots answered to nobody, and the emptiness still feels slightly lawless.
There is nothing in the way of services. Brampton, thirteen kilometres south as the crow flies but further by road, is a pleasant little market town with fuel and cafés; Carlisle is the big supply stop. Fill up before you head north, carry water and something to eat, and do not rely on phone signal. The church is usually open, and there is a small exhibition about the site nearby. In mist the moors close in fast, so allow time to get back down before dark.