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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Bewcastle Roman fort and Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
287 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 57
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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

From Brampton it runs 287 km to Brampton; allow about 4 h 57 of riding. The stops in between: Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66, Skinburness, Burrow Walls Roman fort and Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.

Scenic road chapters

Bewcastle Roman fort → Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66

Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 34 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.

Chapter facts
Length
31 km

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Bewcastle Roman fort

    Bewcastle is one of the loneliest places in Cumbria, and it has been for a very long time. Roman soldiers built an outpost fort here, about ten kilometres north of Hadrian's Wall, on a plateau whose shape the walls followed, giving it an unusual six-sided plan. It was a forward base for scouts watching the tribes beyond the frontier, and it was linked to the Wall at Birdoswald by a road. Later, a medieval castle was built into one corner of the old Roman defences, and its broken walls still stand above the beck.

    Read the complete Bewcastle Roman fort write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Bewcastle Roman fort is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66.

  2. 2. Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66

    The western end of Hadrian's Wall runs right through Carlisle, and the stretch counted as wall mile 66 lies on the edge of the city, close to where the wall crossed the River Eden. The Roman town of Luguvalium grew up here, and the fort at Stanwix, across the river, housed a cavalry regiment and was the largest on the wall. Very little of the stone wall survives in the city, much of it having been robbed for buildings, but the line of the wall and vallum can be traced in places, and the Tullie House museum tells the story of Roman Carlisle with excellent displays.

    Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Skinburness.

  3. 3. Skinburness

    Skinburness is a scatter of houses at the tip of a shingle spit on the Solway coast of Cumbria, just north of Silloth, looking across the wide, shimmering estuary to the hills of Scotland. When the tide goes out, the Solway empties into vast expanses of sand and mud, with channels winding through them, and the light changes constantly as clouds race overhead. On clear evenings, the sunsets over the Scottish hills, with the dark bulk of Criffel opposite, are spectacular.

    Read the complete Skinburness write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Skinburness. Next is Burrow Walls Roman fort.

  4. 4. Burrow Walls Roman fort

    On the northern edge of Workington, near the mouth of the river Derwent, a fragment of stone wall stands alone in a field, a jagged piece of masonry rising above the grass. It is part of Burrow Walls, a Roman fort that guarded the Cumbrian coast, one of the chain of defences that extended from the western end of Hadrian's Wall down the shore to watch for raiders crossing from Scotland and Ireland. Much of the fort's stone was reused in a medieval building on the site, and what survives today is modest, but it is part of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage site and has a lonely charm, with views over the sea and the river.

    Read the complete Burrow Walls Roman fort write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Burrow Walls Roman fort, about halfway. Next is Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house.

  5. 5. Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house

    Walls Castle is the odd name for a Roman bath house, and the building still stands to a height of about four metres, one of the tallest Roman structures in northern England. It stood outside the fort of Glannoventa at Ravenglass, a harbour station at the meeting of three rivers, the Irt, the Mite and the Esk, and in the dry shelter of the dunes it has survived because its walls were thick and well built. You can walk around it on a short path from the village, and see niches and a doorway in the thick walls. The fort itself lies mostly under farmland and the railway.

    Read the complete Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house sits at 156 km, about halfway. Next is back through Burrow Walls Roman fort.

  6. 6. back through Burrow Walls Roman fort

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Burrow Walls 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 Burrow Walls Roman fort comes up about 186 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Skinburness.

  7. 7. back through Skinburness

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Skinburness write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    about 219 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Skinburness. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66.

  8. 8. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66, late in the day. Next is Bewcastle Roman fort.

  9. 9. Bewcastle Roman fort

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Bewcastle Roman fort 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 287 km.

Leg by leg

Bewcastle Roman fort to Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66

Bewcastle Roman fort → Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 to Skinburness

Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 → Skinburness is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Skinburness to Burrow Walls Roman fort

Skinburness → Burrow Walls Roman fort is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Burrow Walls Roman fort to Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house

Burrow Walls Roman fort → Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house to back through Burrow Walls Roman fort

Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house → back through Burrow Walls Roman fort is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Burrow Walls Roman fort to back through Skinburness

back through Burrow Walls Roman fort → back through Skinburness is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Skinburness to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66

back through Skinburness → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 to Bewcastle Roman fort

back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 → Bewcastle Roman fort is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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