North of the Taunus ridge, the Limes crossed a high, open plateau between the Rhine and the Lahn, and the stretch with watchtowers 2/23 to 2/26 runs through the farmland and woods near Miehlen and Singhofen in the Rhein-Lahn district. The remains here are subtle, mostly low banks and the traces of towers in fields and forest edges, but the line of the frontier is marked by the long-distance Limes trail and information boards. This is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, a stretch of the line that few visitors ever see.
The plateau is quiet, rural and peaceful, with fields of grain, meadows and small villages of half-timbered and slate-roofed houses. To the north, the land drops steeply into the Lahn valley, one of the loveliest river valleys in Germany, winding between wooded slopes, castles and small towns. Nassau, about nine kilometres away, gave its name to the House of Nassau, whose branches include the royal family of the Netherlands, and the ruins of the family's ancestral castle stand on a hill above the town. Bad Ems, upstream, is a spa town where the Prussian king's famous telegram of 1870, the Ems Dispatch, helped trigger the Franco-Prussian War, and it is another of the Great Spa Towns of Europe listed by UNESCO.
The riding here is a delight. The plateau roads are smooth, gently curving and quiet, and the roads that drop into the Lahn valley twist and turn through forest. Along the Lahn itself, the road follows the river past castles and villages, with good surfaces and moderate traffic. Watch for cyclists, farm vehicles and deer in the forests at dawn and dusk.
Miehlen and Singhofen are small villages with basic shops, so for fuel and wider choice head for Nassau or Bad Ems. Local food includes hearty German dishes, from schnitzel to sausages, and the wines of the Lahn and the nearby Rhine. Cafés in the Lahn towns serve cakes and coffee in the afternoon.
Come in late spring or early autumn, when the plateau is green or golden and the Lahn valley glows. Ride along the plateau, stop by a stretch of the Limes trail and enjoy the quiet, then drop down into the Lahn for a coffee by the river.