Why this ride
A 230 km round trip from Workington - roughly 3 h 24 in the saddle. On the way it passes Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri, Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags and back through Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Burrow Walls Roman fort and Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 230 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 24
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Burrow Walls Roman fort → Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 61 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 59 km
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 Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri.
2. Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri
Beaumont is one of those small places where history is stacked in layers, like books on a shelf. The little church of St Mary stands on a grassy mound that was once a Norman motte, a castle earthwork, and that mound in turn sits right on the line of Hadrian's Wall as it heads west from Carlisle towards the Solway. The builders of the motte used the Roman wall as a convenient quarry and foundation, and the church builders after them did the same. You will find no tall Roman masonry here, only the line itself, traced in field boundaries and the slight rise of the ground, and an awareness that you are standing on the edge of an empire.
Read the complete Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri comes up about 59 km into the recorded legs. Next is Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags.
3. Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags
The Wall needed millions of dressed stones, and the Romans quarried them close to where they were needed. On Queen's Crags, a ridge of sandstone north of the Wall near Housesteads, they left a calling card: an inscription cut into the rock face, one of several known Roman quarry inscriptions along the frontier, recording a soldier or unit at work. It is a small, weathered thing, hard to find without directions, but it is a direct link to the men who cut the stone for the Wall.
Read the complete Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 115 km into the recorded legs you reach Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags. Next is back through Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri.
4. back through Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri, late in the day. Next is Burrow Walls Roman fort.
5. 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 at Burrow Walls Roman fort. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Burrow Walls Roman fort to Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri
Burrow Walls Roman fort → Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri to Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags
Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri → Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags to back through Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri
Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags → back through Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri to Burrow Walls Roman fort
back through Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri → Burrow Walls Roman fort is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.