Why this ride
A 145 km round trip from Annan - roughly 2 h 45 in the saddle. On the way it passes Silloth Golf Course tower 12a, Swarthy Hill North tower 20b, Burrow Walls Roman fort and Low Mire.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Campfield and Low Mire
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 145 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 45
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Silloth Golf Course tower 12a.
2. 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
Silloth Golf Course tower 12a comes up 17 km in. Next is Swarthy Hill North tower 20b.
3. 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
34 km in you reach Swarthy Hill North tower 20b. Next is Burrow Walls Roman fort.
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 Low Mire.
5. Low Mire
Low Mire lies in the quiet farmland behind the Cumbrian coast, near Dearham and Maryport, where the land slopes gently down to the Solway Firth and the hills of southern Scotland rise across the water. It is an area of small fields, hedges and scattered farms, with the Lake District fells visible to the south-east on clear days.
Read the complete Low Mire write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Low Mire sits at 68 km, about halfway. Next is back through Burrow Walls Roman fort.
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 84 km in. Next is back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b.
7. 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
101 km in you reach back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b. Next is back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a.
8. 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
back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a, late in the day. Next is Campfield.
9. 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
The route ends here after 145 km.
Leg by leg
Campfield to Silloth Golf Course tower 12a
Campfield → Silloth Golf Course tower 12a is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Silloth Golf Course tower 12a to Swarthy Hill North tower 20b
Silloth Golf Course tower 12a → Swarthy Hill North tower 20b is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Swarthy Hill North tower 20b to Burrow Walls Roman fort
Swarthy Hill North tower 20b → Burrow Walls Roman fort is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Burrow Walls Roman fort to Low Mire
Burrow Walls Roman fort → Low Mire is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Low Mire to back through Burrow Walls Roman fort
Low Mire → back through Burrow Walls Roman fort is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Burrow Walls Roman fort to back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b
back through Burrow Walls Roman fort → back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b to back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a
back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b → back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a to Campfield
back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12a → Campfield is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.