Why this ride
82 km from Neuwied to Neuwied, about 1 h 17 of riding. The stops in between: Watchtower WP 1/60, Watchtower WP 1/88 and back through Watchtower WP 1/60. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo and Watchtower WP 1/88
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 82 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 17
- 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
Moselle Wine Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 16 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 16 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo
The Roman frontier in Germany, the Limes, begins at the Rhine near Rheinbrohl, and a few kilometres upstream the town of Neuwied sits on the river, its district of Heddesdorf lying on the site of a Roman auxiliary fort. The fort was one of a chain of garrison posts in the Neuwied basin, a wide, fertile bowl of the Rhine valley with a mild climate, and the soldiers who lived here controlled the river crossing and the road toward the frontier. A civil settlement, a vicus, grew beside the fort, with traders, craftsmen and families. Nothing stands today above ground, because the fort lies under houses and streets, and what survives is documented in the finds in the local museum, in markers and in the street plan.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 1/60.
2. Watchtower WP 1/60
Above Koblenz, on the edge of the Westerwald, the potters of Höhr-Grenzhausen have been making grey, salt-glazed stoneware with cobalt-blue decoration for centuries, giving this corner of Germany its nickname, the Kannenbäckerland, the land of jug bakers. In the forest nearby, the site of Roman watchtower WP 1/60 on the Upper German-Raetian Limes is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site. The tower was one of hundreds along the frontier, a wooden or stone structure from which soldiers watched the land beyond and signalled to their neighbours.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/60 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 1/60 comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 1/88.
3. Watchtower WP 1/88
In the hills above the Lahn, in the Westerwald near Arzbach, the Roman frontier made a long, curving loop through a country of oak and beech forest, and watchtower 1/88 was one of the posts on its line. This district was thick with towers, and several neighbouring numbers lie within a few kilometres. The Romans placed them wherever the ground gave a good view, usually on a rise or a ridge, so that from one you could see the smoke or lamp of the next.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/88 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 45 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 1/88. Next is back through Watchtower WP 1/60.
4. back through Watchtower WP 1/60
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/60 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtower WP 1/60, late in the day. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo.
5. Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo to Watchtower WP 1/60
Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo → Watchtower WP 1/60 is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/60 to Watchtower WP 1/88
Watchtower WP 1/60 → Watchtower WP 1/88 is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/88 to back through Watchtower WP 1/60
Watchtower WP 1/88 → back through Watchtower WP 1/60 is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 1/60 to Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo
back through Watchtower WP 1/60 → Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.