Just west of Chollerford the road climbs onto higher ground and the Wall begins to show itself, first as a hump in the fields, then as a ditch and earthwork running alongside the tarmac. This is the central sector of Hadrian's Wall, built from the 120s on the orders of the emperor Hadrian to mark the northern edge of Roman Britain, and the stretch around Carrawburgh is one of the most atmospheric. The vallum, a broad ditch flanked by mounds on the southern side of the Wall, is especially clear here, and it shows the Roman frontier was not just a wall but a whole military zone, with forts, milecastles, turrets, roads and earthworks.
At Carrawburgh lie the remains of the fort of Brocolitia, and just outside it, the small temple of Mithras, a mysterious cult popular among Roman soldiers. The temple, with replica altars standing in the boggy ground, is one of the most evocative places on the Wall. Nearby, a spring dedicated to the water goddess Coventina yielded thousands of coins and offerings when it was excavated in the nineteenth century.
The road you are riding, the B6318, is known as the Military Road, and it has its own story. It was built in the middle of the eighteenth century, after the Jacobite rising of 1745, to allow troops to move quickly between Newcastle and Carlisle, and in places the builders used the Wall itself as foundations and quarried its stones for the road. The result is a long, undulating ribbon of tarmac, with blind crests and dips that hide oncoming traffic, so take care, especially on summer weekends when the road is busy with visitors.
The landscape is open and wild, with rolling hills, moorland, and long views north towards the Cheviots and Kielder forest. The weather can change quickly, with wind, rain and fog sweeping across the hills, so pack warm and waterproof clothing even in summer. Hexham, about eleven kilometres away, is the nearest larger town, with an abbey, a busy market and all the services you need, including fuel. Haydon Bridge and Acomb have pubs and basic shops, but services along the Wall itself are sparse, so plan your stops in advance.