Why this ride
59 km from Greenhead to Greenhead, about 59 min of riding. The stops in between: Boothby Roman fort, Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La and back through Boothby Roman fort.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and and Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 59 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 59 min
- 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. Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and
A Syrian archer unit once garrisoned this hilltop. Carvoran was the Roman fort at the junction of the Wall with the Maiden Way, a road that ran north towards Scotland, and at one time the cohors I Hamiorum, an auxiliary unit raised in the city of Hama in Syria, was stationed here, men who had marched or sailed across the empire to guard a wet, windy ridge in Northumberland. A bronze grain measure found at Carvoran, the Carvoran modius, carries a long inscription that mentions the emperor Hadrian, and it gives a glimpse of how the garrison was supplied. The fort is mostly a grassy platform now, but the position, on a ridge with views over the Tyne Gap, shows why it was chosen.
Read the complete Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and is where the day begins. Next is Boothby Roman fort.
2. Boothby Roman fort
Brampton is a small red-sandstone market town on the edge of the northern Pennines, and just outside it, on the line of the old Stanegate road, lay Boothby, one of the Roman forts that guarded the frontier before Hadrian's Wall was built. There is nothing much to see on the ground now, only a field and a slight rise, but the location is a good jumping-off point for some of the best riding and the best Wall sites in Cumbria.
Read the complete Boothby Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Boothby Roman fort comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La.
3. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La
Just east of Carlisle, near the village of Scotby, the Wall leaves almost no mark on the land. Here, at the western end of the Roman frontier, it was built first of turf and timber before being rebuilt in stone, and much of that stone has since been carried off to build farmhouses, churches and field walls. What survives is mostly buried, a faint line in the pasture or a slight ridge followed by a hedge. The vallum, the great earthwork that ran behind the wall, sometimes shows as a shallow trough in the fields. Yet this quiet stretch is part of the same World Heritage site as the dramatic crags further east, and walking the Hadrian's Wall Path through it gives a sense of continuity across the whole country.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 30 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La. Next is back through Boothby Roman fort.
4. back through Boothby Roman fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Boothby 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 Boothby Roman fort, late in the day. Next is Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and.
5. Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and to Boothby Roman fort
Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and → Boothby Roman fort is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Boothby Roman fort to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La
Boothby Roman fort → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La to back through Boothby Roman fort
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La → back through Boothby Roman fort is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Boothby Roman fort to Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and
back through Boothby Roman fort → Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.