Boomby Lane 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps and Skinburness
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
73 km
Riding-time estimate
1 h 36
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 73 km round trip from Carlisle - roughly 1 h 36 in the saddle. On the way it passes Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou, Skinburness and back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Boomby Lane 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps
Carlisle is where the Roman frontier met the border of two kingdoms, and the city holds all of that history in a compact space. The Romans built a fort here called Luguvalium, beside the River Eden, and it was an important base for the western end of the Wall. In the Middle Ages the red sandstone castle was the stronghold of the English border, and Mary, Queen of Scots, was held there for two months in 1568 after fleeing across the Solway. The cathedral, one of the smallest in England, has a huge east window and a painted ceiling of gold stars on blue. Tullie House Museum tells the story from the Romans to the border reivers, the raiding families of the borderland.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Boomby Lane 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou.
2. Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou
The vallum is the strangest part of Hadrian's Wall, and a good place to see it is on the flat ground near Bowness-on-Solway. It is a broad, deep ditch with a flat bottom, flanked by two mounds of earth set back from the edge, and it ran along the south side of the wall for its whole length. Nobody is certain what it was for, but the best theory is that it marked the rear boundary of a military zone, a line that civilians could cross only at controlled points, which fits with the idea of the wall as a border of customs and security as well as defence.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou comes up about 13 km into the recorded legs. Next is Skinburness.
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Boomby Lane 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Boomby Lane 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps to Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou
Boomby Lane 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps → Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou to Skinburness
Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou → Skinburness is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Skinburness to back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou
Skinburness → back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou to Boomby Lane 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps
back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between the watercou → Boomby Lane 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.