Roman armies on campaign dug in every night. Wherever they halted, soldiers threw up a rectangular earth rampart and ditch around their tents, and on Walwick Fell, a short way west of the North Tyne, the faint outline of one of those temporary camps survives in the rough pasture. You need a keen eye and low sunlight to make it out, but its presence is a reminder that the Wall was built, maintained and defended by thousands of men who lived and worked in these hills, sometimes under canvas, sometimes in stone forts.
The best known of those forts is Chesters, just down the hill by the river. Its remains include one of the finest Roman bathhouses in Britain, set on the riverbank, and the abutments of a Roman bridge that once carried the Wall across the North Tyne can still be seen on the opposite bank. A short distance to the west, at Limestone Corner, the Roman builders tried to cut the Wall's northern ditch through a band of hard whinstone and gave up, leaving huge split blocks lying where they fell, with wedge holes still visible. It is one of those places where you can almost hear the swearing.
The riding around here combines the Military Road along the Wall with the quiet valley roads of the North Tyne. Heading north from Chollerford, the road follows the river through Wark and Bellingham towards Kielder Water, the largest reservoir in England, surrounded by a vast forest and some of the darkest skies in the country. The roads are narrow but well surfaced, with gentle bends, rolling hills and little traffic. Sheep wander freely on some of the moorland roads, so ride with caution.
Hexham, about eight kilometres away, is the nearest larger town, with a fine medieval abbey and a good range of shops, cafes and fuel stations. Chollerford has a hotel and a small village, and Acomb, Wall and Humshaugh have pubs. The North Tyne valley is green and gentle, with old stone villages, river meadows and pockets of woodland, in contrast to the bare uplands of the central Wall. In late summer, the heather turns the moors purple, and the evenings are long and golden, perfect for a slow ride home.