Birdoswald Roman fort and the section of H and Palisade ditches

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Birdoswald Roman fort and the section of H

   Birdoswald stands on a bluff above the River Irthing in Cumbria, almost at the point where Hadrian's Wall leaves the flatter country near Carlisle and begins to climb into the harder, wilder ground of Northumberland. The Roman fort here was called Banna, and it was one of the larger forts along the wall, home to a cohort of auxiliary soldiers. What makes it special is that you can walk along a stretch of the wall that stands tall, with the original facing stones and the line of the turrets still visible, and look out over a steep wooded gorge where the Irthing cuts through red sandstone.

   Read the complete Birdoswald Roman fort and the section of H write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Birdoswald Roman fort and the section of H is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall from Oatens Bank.

2. 2. Hadrian's Wall from Oatens Bank

   The road west from Heddon-on-the-Wall runs straight as a ruler, and there is a reason for that. The B6318, known locally as the Military Road, was built by General Wade's engineers after the Jacobite rising of 1745 so that troops could move quickly between Newcastle and Carlisle, and for long stretches they laid it right on top of Hadrian's Wall, using the Roman stones as foundation. At Oatens Bank, just beyond Heddon, you ride with the Wall beneath your tyres and the ditch and vallum still visible in the fields beside you, two thousand years of frontier engineering compressed into a few metres.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall from Oatens Bank write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Hadrian's Wall from Oatens Bank comes up about 50 km into the recorded legs. Next is Palisade ditches.

3. 3. Palisade ditches

   Hadrian's Wall did not simply stop at the edge of the Solway. Beyond its western end at Bowness, the Romans continued the frontier down the Cumbrian coast with a chain of milefortlets and towers, and in places with ditches and palisades, to watch over the shoreline and guard against raids across the firth from what is now south west Scotland. The palisade ditches near Silloth are part of that coastal system, faint traces in the flat land behind the dunes, and they are a reminder that the Roman frontier was a complex network that stretched far beyond the famous stone wall.

   Read the complete Palisade ditches write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 165 km into the recorded legs you reach Palisade ditches. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall from Oatens Bank.

4. 4. back through Hadrian's Wall from Oatens Bank

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall from Oatens Bank 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 from Oatens Bank, late in the day. Next is Birdoswald Roman fort and the section of H.

5. 5. Birdoswald Roman fort and the section of H

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Birdoswald Roman fort and the section of H write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Birdoswald Roman fort and the section of H. That is the ride.