Wall mile 5 is in Newcastle, which means that the Roman frontier is under a bus route. The Wall began at Wallsend and ran west, and the antiquarians who surveyed it numbered every Roman mile from there, so mile five falls in Benwell, a hillside district of terraces above the Tyne. Here the old line is now more or less the West Road, a main road into the city, and a short way off the road you can find real Roman stone. A tiny temple dedicated to a local British god called Antenociticus stands in a small garden between modern houses, with its three altars copied in place, and the remains of the Vallum, the broad ditch south of the Wall, crosses a causeway nearby. The fort of Condercum stood on the hill above, with a fine view east down the river.
It is an odd and rather lovely mix: a few courses of Roman masonry, a street of Victorian houses, a school, and the city sprawling to the Tyne. On a clear day the view from the high ground sweeps over the river and the bridges, and the Roman soldiers who watched here would recognise the shape of the valley, if not the cranes. Nearby Newcastle has a long history with coal, shipbuilding and engineering, and the quayside is a cheerful place to walk, with seven bridges in a short stretch and a lively evening scene. Segedunum, the fort at Wallsend, has a tower you can climb and a reconstructed bath house, and it makes a good starting point if you are following the Wall.
The riding here is city riding, with buses, lights and parked cars, and the road surface is patched. The best part of the day lies to the west, where the Military Road runs along the Wall through open country, and the Tyne valley offers quiet lanes past Hexham and Corbridge. Come out of the city early, before the commuters, and aim for the sunlit crags. Fuel is easy, since Benwell and Whickham are suburbs with petrol stations, and the city centre is a short ride east.
Newcastle's weather is cooler and windier than in the west, and sea fog, called a haar, rolls in from the North Sea in spring and early summer. A bacon sandwich from a corner cafe is the local breakfast, and a pie and a pint in the evening finishes the day. Look at the temple, read the board, and think about how many people have walked past it without knowing.