Bank Mill tower 15a and Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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.

   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 is where the day begins. Next is Cardurnock milefortlet.

2. 2. Cardurnock milefortlet

   The Cardurnock peninsula pokes out into the upper Solway Firth like a thumb, a flat, wind-scoured finger of farmland and salt marsh west of Bowness-on-Solway, with the tide sweeping in and out over the sands on three sides. Beyond the end of Hadrian's Wall, the Romans continued their defences down the coast with a chain of small forts and towers, and Cardurnock milefortlet was one of them, a small walled post with a handful of men keeping an eye on the fords and the open water. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site, though nothing much is visible now beyond the lie of the land.

   Read the complete Cardurnock milefortlet write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Cardurnock milefortlet comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End.

3. 3. 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.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 54 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End. Next is back through Cardurnock milefortlet.

4. 4. back through Cardurnock milefortlet

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Cardurnock milefortlet write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Cardurnock milefortlet, late in the day. Next is Bank Mill tower 15a.

5. 5. 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 at Bank Mill tower 15a. That is the ride.