A couple of kilometres west of Chollerford, the Military Road climbs onto open moorland, and at a place called Limestone Corner, the most northerly point of Hadrian's Wall, the Romans gave up. Their ditch in front of the Wall was supposed to be cut through solid rock here, and you can still see where they started: huge blocks of whinstone split by wedges and left lying in the ditch, with holes for the levers still visible, as if the workers had just walked away for lunch. Brown Moor, close by, is the site of one of several Roman temporary camps in this stretch, where soldiers camped while building the Wall or moving through the frontier zone, their outlines barely visible in the rough grass.
The landscape here is open, windswept and grand. The Wall runs along the high ground, with views north over the rolling moors toward the Wark forest and the Cheviots, and south to the Tyne valley. The ground is boggy in places, with tussocks and sphagnum moss, and curlews and lapwings nest in spring. Sheep graze everywhere, and the stone walls running across the fields are the only sign of human order for miles. Weather can be harsh, with strong winds, driving rain and sudden fog, even in summer.
The B6318 is one of the best roads in northern England for motorcycling, and the stretch past Limestone Corner is a classic, with long crests and dips, fast curves and wide views. Visibility over the crests is limited, so do not get carried away, and watch for walkers crossing to the Wall path, cyclists, and sheep straying onto the road. The road continues west toward Housesteads and the crags of the Whin Sill, where the Wall becomes truly spectacular. Weekends and summer bring more traffic, and speed limits are enforced.
There are no services on the moor. Hexham, about eleven kilometres away, has petrol, coffee and a few shops, and Chollerford and Haydon Bridge have smaller options. Bring water and warm layers, because the weather can change quickly. Stop at Limestone Corner, walk to the ditch and look at the split boulders, and imagine the frustration of the Roman engineers who decided that this was one rock too many. It is a wonderful, human moment in the history of the frontier.