Why this ride
From Workington it runs 148 km to Workington; allow about 2 h 50 of riding. It goes by way of Swarthy Hill North tower 20b, Silloth Golf Course tower 12a, Campfield and Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Burrow Walls Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 148 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 50
- 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Swarthy Hill North tower 20b.
2. Swarthy Hill North tower 20b
Along the Cumbrian coast between Silloth and Maryport, the Roman frontier did not end when Hadrian's stone Wall reached Bowness. A chain of milefortlets and towers continued down the shore, watching the Solway for raiders arriving by boat, and Tower 20b near Swarthy Hill is one of them. It was a small stone watchtower, probably manned by a handful of soldiers, and what remains is a low outline in the turf above the beach. You come for the context and the view across the water rather than for the masonry.
Read the complete Swarthy Hill North tower 20b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Swarthy Hill North tower 20b comes up about 13 km into the recorded legs. Next is Silloth Golf Course tower 12a.
3. Silloth Golf Course tower 12a
Silloth is a Victorian seaside town that never quite got the crowds it was built for, and it is all the better for that. Laid out in the 1850s as a port and resort at the end of a railway from Carlisle, it has wide cobbled streets, terraces of sandstone houses and a huge open green between the town and the sea, where people stroll, play and watch the sunsets over the Solway. On the dunes south of the town, near the famous golf course, the Romans built a chain of towers along the coast, and tower 12a was one of them, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.
Read the complete Silloth Golf Course tower 12a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 27 km into the recorded legs you reach Silloth Golf Course tower 12a. Next is Campfield.
4. Campfield
Out on the Solway coast west of Carlisle, the land flattens into salt marsh, peat bog and wide tidal sands, and the sky takes over. Campfield Marsh, near Bowness-on-Solway, is a nature reserve run by the RSPB, a mix of salt marsh, wet grassland and raised bog, and in winter it fills with tens of thousands of geese, barnacle and pink-footed, arriving from the Arctic, along with waders that feed on the mud at low tide. Across the firth, the town of Annan and the Scottish hills are visible on a clear day.
Read the complete Campfield write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Campfield, about halfway. Next is Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End.
5. 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
Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End sits at 67 km, about halfway. Next is back through Campfield.
6. back through Campfield
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Campfield write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Campfield comes up about 89 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a.
7. back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Silloth Golf Course tower 12a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 120 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a. Next is back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b.
8. back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Swarthy Hill North tower 20b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b, late in the day. Next is Burrow Walls Roman fort.
9. 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
The route ends here after 148 km.
Leg by leg
Burrow Walls Roman fort to Swarthy Hill North tower 20b
Burrow Walls Roman fort → Swarthy Hill North tower 20b is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Swarthy Hill North tower 20b to Silloth Golf Course tower 12a
Swarthy Hill North tower 20b → Silloth Golf Course tower 12a is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Silloth Golf Course tower 12a to Campfield
Silloth Golf Course tower 12a → Campfield is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Campfield to Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End
Campfield → Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End to back through Campfield
Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End → back through Campfield is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Campfield to back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a
back through Campfield → back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a to back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b
back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a → back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b to Burrow Walls Roman fort
back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b → Burrow Walls Roman fort is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.