Why this ride
A 90 km round trip from Keswick - roughly 1 h 34 in the saddle. It goes by way of Bank Mill tower 15a, Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields, Beckfoot Roman fort and Wolsty South tower 13b.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Keswick day out · Wolsty South tower 13b
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 90 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 34
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Bank Mill tower 15a → Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 1 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 1 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Keswick
Keswick is a slate-grey market town at the northern end of Derwentwater, and everything about it is shaped by the fells. Skiddaw rises to the north in a vast smooth dome, Blencathra's ridges lie to the east, and the lake spreads out to the south toward the jaws of Borrowdale, with small wooded islands scattered across it. About four thousand people live here, but the numbers multiply in summer, and the main street is full of walkers in damp coats peering into the windows of outdoor shops.
Read the complete Keswick write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Keswick is where the day begins. Next is Bank Mill tower 15a.
2. Bank Mill tower 15a
Hadrian's Wall did not stop at the sea. West of Bowness, the Romans continued their frontier along the Cumbrian coast with a chain of milefortlets and watchtowers, guarding against raiders who might sail across the Solway Firth. Bank Mill tower 15a is one of those coastal towers, set on the low ground near Silloth, and its remains are slight, though the logic is clear: from here, a sentry could see the whole estuary, and a signal could pass quickly along the line. The coast defences belong to the same UNESCO frontier listing as the wall itself.
Read the complete Bank Mill tower 15a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bank Mill tower 15a comes up about 43 km into the recorded legs. Next is Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields.
3. Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields
The Roman frontier did not stop where Hadrian's Wall ended. At Bowness, on the Solway shore, the stone and turf barrier gave out, but a chain of small forts, fortlets and watchtowers continued south along the Cumbrian coast, past Silloth and Maryport to near St Bees, to guard against raiders coming across the water from Scotland and the Irish Sea. Archaeologists still argue about how it worked. Often only a faint platform in a field remains.
Read the complete Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least about 44 km into the recorded legs you reach Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields. Next is Beckfoot Roman fort.
4. Beckfoot Roman fort
Most people think Hadrian's Wall ended at Bowness-on-Solway, and in stone it did. But the Romans did not trust the shallow Solway Firth to keep raiders out, so they carried their defences on down the Cumbrian coast for many miles: a chain of small milefortlets and watchtowers, with proper forts at intervals, all the way to Maryport and beyond. Beckfoot is one of those forts, on a low bluff a few kilometres south of Silloth, looking straight across the water to Scotland. Above ground there is almost nothing, just a field with faint outlines, but aerial photos and excavations have shown the fort, its civilian settlement and its cemetery, and coastal erosion keeps nibbling at the remains.
Read the complete Beckfoot Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beckfoot Roman fort, about halfway. Next is Wolsty South tower 13b.
5. Wolsty South tower 13b
Hadrian's Wall gets the fame, but the Roman frontier did not simply stop at Bowness-on-Solway. Beyond the end of the wall, a chain of milefortlets and towers continued down the Cumbrian coast, watching the Solway Firth for raiders from the north. Wolsty South, tower 13b, was one of them, a small stone watchtower near Silloth on the low, windy coast. There is little to see today, often just a mark in the ground, but the site is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listed by UNESCO, and its position tells a story: from here, Roman soldiers looked across the water to the hills of Scotland.
Read the complete Wolsty South tower 13b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wolsty South tower 13b sits at 45 km, about halfway. Next is back through Beckfoot Roman fort.
6. back through Beckfoot Roman fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beckfoot Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Beckfoot Roman fort comes up about 49 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields.
7. back through Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 50 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields. Next is back through Bank Mill tower 15a.
8. back through Bank Mill tower 15a
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bank Mill tower 15a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bank Mill tower 15a, late in the day. Next is Keswick.
9. Keswick
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Keswick write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 90 km.
Leg by leg
Keswick to Bank Mill tower 15a
Keswick → Bank Mill tower 15a is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bank Mill tower 15a to Keswick
back through Bank Mill tower 15a → Keswick is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.