In the Taunus and Westerwald country of Rhineland-Palatinate, the Limes crosses hills so wooded that it is easy to miss. The numbering here records three watchtower positions and a fort, and from the start of the sequence you can follow the frontier as a line of mounds through forest and field.
The fort in this stretch belongs to the series of small garrison posts that held the frontier. Troops of auxiliary soldiers, recruited from provinces across the empire, lived in such forts, and a civilian settlement of traders, craftsmen and families usually grew up outside the walls. The garrisons were not large, perhaps a few hundred men, but they controlled the roads and watched the border, and when pressure from the Germanic tribes grew in the third century the system collapsed and the Romans withdrew to the Rhine.
The nearby town of Nassau has a different claim to fame: it is the seat of the old counts of Nassau, whose family later produced the royal houses of the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The castle ruins stand on a hill above the Lahn river, and the town below is a quiet spa with half-timbered houses. The Lahn valley is a charming ride, with a river threaded between wooded slopes, vineyards on the sheltered sides and small villages with church towers.
The riding in this part of the Westerwald and Taunus is varied, with gentle climbs, long curves and open meadows, and the roads between Miehlen, Singhofen and Nastätten wind through forest and fields at a pleasant pace. Surfaces are generally good but can be patched, and wet leaves and tractor mud are the usual hazards. Traffic is light, apart from commuter times and summer weekends, and the best seasons are late spring and early autumn.
Nastätten and Nassau both have fuel, shops and cafés, and Miehlen and Singhofen offer a bakery or a village inn. A glass of Riesling from the Rhine or Lahn valley, or a plate of roast pork with dumplings and red cabbage, is a good reward after a day among the towers. Bring a map or a phone with offline maps, since forest tracks branch in confusing ways.