Brampton is a small red sandstone market town at the edge of the Pennines, and just north of it, where the land rises toward the Irthing valley, a stretch of the vallum runs across the fields near Garthside. The vallum, the great ditch and banks that ran south of Hadrian's Wall, is often clearer than the wall itself in this area, because the stone of the wall was carried off long ago to build farmhouses, churches and even a priory. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site, and it is best seen in low light, when the earthworks cast long shadows.
The priory is Lanercost, a few kilometres to the north-east, an Augustinian house founded in the twelfth century and built partly from Roman stones. Edward I stayed there for months during his campaigns against the Scots, and the ruined church and cloister are hauntingly beautiful. Nearby, Birdoswald fort stands above a bend of the Irthing, with a long, well-preserved stretch of wall and a visitor centre.
Brampton, with four thousand people, has fuel, shops, pubs and cafés, and a weekly market. Talkin Tarn, a glacial lake just south of town, set in a country park, is popular for walks and swimming. Further afield, the Bewcastle Cross, an Anglo-Saxon carved cross standing in a remote churchyard to the north, is one of the finest early medieval monuments in Britain.
The riding here is varied. The A69 runs east-west along the valley and is busy, but the minor roads north toward Bewcastle and Kielder are narrow, quiet and often unfenced, crossing moorland where sheep wander freely. South, the Pennines rise steeply, and the A686 from Penrith to Alston over Hartside is one of the best motorcycle roads in England, climbing in a series of bends to a summit with views across the Eden valley to the Lake District.