Why this ride
72 km from Silloth to Silloth, about 1 h 21 of riding. It goes by way of Maryport, Parton Roman fort and back through Maryport. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Beckfoot Roman fort and Parton Roman fort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 72 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 21
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Maryport.
2. Maryport
Maryport is a harbour town on the Cumbrian coast, a place of Georgian terraces, fishing boats and a long quay, with the Solway Firth and the hills of Galloway across the water. The town was laid out in the 1750s by Humphrey Senhouse, who named it for his wife Mary, and it grew on coal, shipbuilding and trade. Thomas Ismay, the founder of the White Star Line that later built the Titanic, was born here in 1837, and Fletcher Christian of the Bounty came from nearby Cockermouth. The harbour has been restored, with a maritime museum, a row of old boats, and a pleasant waterfront to walk.
Read the complete Maryport write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Maryport comes up about 15 km into the recorded legs. Next is Parton Roman fort.
3. Parton Roman fort
Hadrian's Wall stopped at Bowness-on-Solway, but the Roman frontier did not. Down the Cumbrian coast, the army built a chain of forts, milefortlets and towers to watch the sea and stop raiders slipping round the end of the Wall, and Parton, just north of Whitehaven, was one of them. The fort is known from excavations and records rather than standing remains, and the coastal defences as a whole are included in the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Standing on the cliffs above the sea, you can see why the Romans worried: across the water lie the Isle of Man and, on clear days, the hills of Scotland.
Read the complete Parton Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 36 km into the recorded legs you reach Parton Roman fort. Next is back through Maryport.
4. back through Maryport
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Maryport write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Maryport, late in the day. Next is Beckfoot Roman fort.
5. 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 at Beckfoot Roman fort. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Beckfoot Roman fort to Maryport
Beckfoot Roman fort → Maryport is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Maryport to Parton Roman fort
Maryport → Parton Roman fort is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Parton Roman fort to back through Maryport
Parton Roman fort → back through Maryport is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Maryport to Beckfoot Roman fort
back through Maryport → Beckfoot Roman fort is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.