Carlisle was the western hub of Hadrian's Wall, and on its northern edge, at Stanwix, stood the largest fort on the whole frontier. Known to the Romans as Uxelodunum, it held a cavalry regiment about a thousand strong, and its commander was one of the most important officers on the wall. Little of it is visible now, since the fort lies under the streets and gardens of a suburb, but the line of the wall can be traced through the town, in parts of the pavement and the shape of the streets, and a short surviving section lies in a quiet corner near the river Eden.
The place names in the label, Davidson's Banks and Red House, point to the rough countryside that once stood here. The wall in this stretch was originally built of turf and later rebuilt in stone, and it ran along the edge of the high ground above the Eden floodplain. The river is wide and brown, and its banks are green with willow and alder, and the water can flood the low fields after heavy rain.
Carlisle has been fought over for two thousand years. After the Romans the town was a Northumbrian outpost, a Norman stronghold, and for centuries a bulwark against the Scots, and its castle held Mary, Queen of Scots in 1568. In 1745 it was taken and retaken during the Jacobite rising. The city's cathedral and castle stand in the centre, and the railway station, built in the nineteenth century, is the start of the Settle-Carlisle line, one of the great railway journeys of England.
Riding into Carlisle from the Eden valley is a gentle pleasure, with quiet roads through farmland and villages, and good surfaces on the main routes. The city streets are busy but manageable, and parking for motorcycles is easy. The best times for riding are late spring and early autumn, and the sunsets over the Solway are glorious.
Carlisle has fuel stations across the city, and Denton Holme and Dalston have smaller services. Look for a pub serving Cumberland sausage, and finish with sticky toffee pudding. Allow time to walk a stretch of the Hadrian's Wall Path along the river, where the grass and the water make the history easy to imagine.