Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet and Drumburgh Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall be
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
321 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 23
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 321 km round trip from Bardon Mill - roughly 4 h 23 in the saddle. On the way it passes Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5, Drumburgh Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall be and back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet
Midway along Hadrian's Wall, the land rises into a dramatic line of crags, and here the wall perches along the edge of the Whin Sill, a hard, dark rock that stands like a cliff over green pastures. Roman engineers followed the natural line of the escarpment, and from the top you can see for miles across moor and farmland, with the Cheviot hills blue in the north.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5.
2. Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5
Wall mile 5 is in Newcastle, which means that the Roman frontier is under a bus route. The Wall began at Wallsend and ran west, and the antiquarians who surveyed it numbered every Roman mile from there, so mile five falls in Benwell, a hillside district of terraces above the Tyne. Here the old line is now more or less the West Road, a main road into the city, and a short way off the road you can find real Roman stone. A tiny temple dedicated to a local British god called Antenociticus stands in a small garden between modern houses, with its three altars copied in place, and the remains of the Vallum, the broad ditch south of the Wall, crosses a causeway nearby. The fort of Condercum stood on the hill above, with a fine view east down the river.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5 comes up about 51 km into the recorded legs. Next is Drumburgh Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall be.
3. Drumburgh Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall be
The small Roman fort at Drumburgh sat on a low rise above the Solway marshes, guarding a stretch of Hadrian's Wall where the frontier ran along the edge of the firth towards its western end at Bowness. Nothing much survives of the fort itself, but its stones did not go far. Drumburgh Castle, a fortified farmhouse built in the sixteenth century by the Dacre family, is clearly made from reused Roman masonry, and you can still pick out dressed blocks and even the odd carved fragment set into its walls.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet to Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5
Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet → Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5 is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5 to Drumburgh Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall be
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5 → Drumburgh Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall be is 109 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Drumburgh Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall be to back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5
Drumburgh Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall be → back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5 is 110 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5 to Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet
back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5 → Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.