Component 2 and The Roman fort

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Component 2

   The monks who founded Fountains Abbey arrived in 1132, a band of Benedictines from York who were unhappy with the laxity of their house and decided to follow the strict rule of the Cistercians. They settled in a wild, wooded valley beside the River Skell, with, as the chronicle says, nothing but thorn trees and rough stones, and over four centuries they built one of the richest and largest monasteries in England. Henry VIII dissolved it in 1539, and the ruins that remain, the great church with its soaring tower, the long cellarium and the cloister, are among the most beautiful in Europe. In the eighteenth century the owner of the neighbouring estate, John Aislabie, turned the valley into a water garden, so the ruins are now part of a designed landscape of ponds, canals and temples. UNESCO listed the whole ensemble in 1986.

   Read the complete Component 2 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Component 2 is where the day begins. Next is Durham Castle and Cathedral.

2. 2. Durham Castle and Cathedral

   The river Wear loops around a rocky peninsula in a tight horseshoe, and on top of it, rising above the trees, stand Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle, one of the most impressive views in Britain. The Normans built both in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, soon after the Conquest, as a statement of power in the turbulent north. The cathedral is a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture, with massive columns carved with zigzags and spirals, and its stone rib vaults are among the earliest of their kind in Europe, pointing the way to Gothic architecture. Together, castle and cathedral were listed by UNESCO in 1986.

   Read the complete Durham Castle and Cathedral write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Durham Castle and Cathedral comes up about 95 km into the recorded legs. Next is The Roman fort.

3. 3. The Roman fort

   Down by the North Tyne, where the river runs fast over stones under a canopy of trees, a Roman cavalry regiment once kept its horses and its very comfortable bath house. Chesters, the fort the Romans called Cilurnum, sat astride Hadrian's Wall near the village of Walwick, guarding the bridge that carried the wall across the river. It is one of the best preserved forts along the wall, with the headquarters building, the commander's house and the bath house still standing to knee or shoulder height, and the remains of the bridge abutment visible on the far bank.

   Read the complete The Roman fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 154 km into the recorded legs you reach The Roman fort. Next is back through Durham Castle and Cathedral.

4. 4. back through Durham Castle and Cathedral

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Durham Castle and Cathedral write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Durham Castle and Cathedral, late in the day. Next is Component 2.

5. 5. Component 2

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Component 2 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Component 2. That is the ride.