Bank Mill tower 15a and Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
207 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 24
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.
A 207 km round trip from Silloth - roughly 3 h 24 in the saddle. The stops in between: Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End, Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel, back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel and back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bank Mill tower 15a is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End.
2. Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End
Out on the Solway plain the land flattens, the sky gets enormous, and the sea is never far off even when you cannot see it. The stretch of the vallum near West End lies between Carlisle and the village of Burgh by Sands, on the last run of Hadrian's Wall towards its western end at Bowness-on-Solway. Here the Roman frontier ran along the edge of the marshes and the estuary, where the tide sweeps in across vast sands and salt marsh. Nothing of the Wall stands above ground in this section, but the line is clear on the map, and the country around has a strange, quiet beauty.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.
3. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
East of Carlisle, near the market town of Brampton, Hadrian's Wall crosses a landscape of rolling farmland, hedges and woods along the valley of the River Irthing. Here the wall and its vallum, the great earthwork ditch that ran behind it on the southern side, cross fields where the stone has mostly been robbed for farm buildings, but the earthworks remain clearly visible as long ridges and hollows in the grass.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 73 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.
4. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Here the Wall is at its most dramatic. In the central sector of Hadrian's Wall, north of Haydon Bridge and Hexham in Northumberland, the Roman frontier runs along the top of the Whin Sill, a long ridge of hard volcanic rock that breaks the moorland into a series of north-facing cliffs. The Romans built their wall right along the crest, using the natural defences, and the result is a line of stone that rises and falls with the crags like the spine of a great animal. Behind it, to the south, runs the vallum, a broad earthwork ditch with mounds on either side that marked the military zone, still clearly visible across the fields.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bank Mill tower 15a closes the day.
Leg by leg
Bank Mill tower 15a to Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End
Bank Mill tower 15a → Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End to Bank Mill tower 15a
back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End → Bank Mill tower 15a is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.