Wallsend, the name itself is the clue. This is the east end of Hadrian's Wall, on the north bank of the Tyne about five miles from the centre of Newcastle, where the Romans built a fort called Segedunum to guard the river and anchor the frontier. The label's Wall mile 1 is a reference to the first stretch of the Wall measured from here, and the fort and the short section of reconstructed Wall nearby are the real thing to see. Wallsend is a working Tyneside town of about forty-three thousand people, and Hebburn, on the other bank, has a similar shape; both were built around shipyards and mines.
Segedunum has been excavated and partly rebuilt, and its observation tower gives a view over the ground plan of barracks, granaries and the headquarters building, with the Tyne beyond. A reconstructed Roman bathhouse, built with the methods of the period, shows how the soldiers washed, and a stretch of the Wall runs from the fort towards the river. The museum is worth an hour, and it is better than you expect for a place so surrounded by housing. The fort stood here for around three centuries, and the garrison seems to have been a unit of auxiliary soldiers drawn from the provinces of the empire.
Riding is a city matter. From here you will take the A187 or the riverside road with its roundabouts, traffic lights and speed cameras, and the cobbled sections around the old shipyards are slippery when wet. The great cranes that once built liners and warships have mostly gone, but the memory of Swan Hunter remains in the street names. West along the north bank the road becomes the start of the Hadrian's Wall Path, one of Britain's national trails, and the Military Road runs towards open country. For a more rural ride, head west to the Tyne valley.
Fuel, cafes and shops are everywhere. The Tyne Tunnel and the Metro give easy ways in and out. Local food, pease pudding and a stottie cake, a flat round loaf, go together surprisingly well with ham, and the pubs along the river are friendly. Parking at Segedunum is free, which counts for a lot in the north-east, and bikes are easily accommodated. Arrive when it opens and you may have the tower to yourself.