Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & and Frontiers of the Roman Empire

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &

   Of all the Roman sites along Hadrian's Wall, Carrawburgh may be the most mysterious. The fort itself, called Brocolitia, is largely unexcavated, a grassy platform beside the Military Road, but just below it, in a boggy hollow, stands the reconstructed outline of a small temple of Mithras, the soldiers' god, whose cult was popular among the Roman army. The temple was excavated in 1949, and its three altars, now replaced by replicas, the originals being in the Great North Museum in Newcastle, were dedicated by commanders of the garrison. Nearby, a spring dedicated to the water goddess Coventina yielded an astonishing hoard of coins, altars and offerings when it was excavated in the nineteenth century, around thirteen thousand coins in all.

   Read the complete Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall.

2. 2. Hadrian's Wall

   North of Haltwhistle the land rises in a series of dark ridges, and along their crest runs the most dramatic surviving stretch of Hadrian's Wall. Built from AD 122 on the orders of the emperor Hadrian, the wall ran some seventy three miles from the Tyne to the Solway, with forts, milecastles and turrets along its length, and here, between Walltown Crags and Birdoswald, it climbs and drops along the edge of the Whin Sill, a band of hard volcanic rock that forms natural cliffs facing north. The wall is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Hadrian's Wall comes up about 14 km into the recorded legs. Next is Frontiers of the Roman Empire.

3. 3. Frontiers of the Roman Empire

   The Wall comes into its own here, at the Irthing gorge, where the line runs along a high shelf above the river and you can see why the Romans picked it. Birdoswald fort, known to them as Banna, sits right on that edge, with a long view down the valley and the ground falling away to the water.

   Read the complete Frontiers of the Roman Empire write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 29 km into the recorded legs you reach Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall.

4. 4. back through Hadrian's Wall

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall 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, late in the day. Next is Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &.

5. 5. Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &. That is the ride.