Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ and Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 9

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ

   Gilsland is a village with a split personality. The boundary between Northumberland and Cumbria runs right through it, along the Poltross Burn, so the houses on one side are in one county and those on the other in another. Hadrian's Wall runs through it too, and the stretch of Wall, vallum and associated features around the village is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. The Wall here crosses the narrow gorge of the burn and the railway line, with a milecastle right next to the old station.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet.

2. 2. Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet

   This is the stretch of Hadrian's Wall that everyone pictures: the stone curtain running along the crest of the Whin Sill, a hard dolerite ridge that ends in sheer north-facing crags, with lakes like Crag Lough and Greenlee Lough glinting below. Housesteads fort is close by, clinging to the hillside with its barracks, granaries and famous communal latrines, and the Wall dips and climbs over each crag in a way that seems almost reckless as engineering. The Sycamore Gap tree, which stood in a dip in the ridge for generations, was felled in an act of vandalism in 2023, and the loss is still felt locally.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Corbridge.

3. 3. Corbridge

   Two thousand years ago, Dere Street, the Roman road heading north into Scotland, crossed the Tyne here, and a town grew up around a supply base just behind Hadrian's Wall. Coria, now called Corbridge Roman Town, was a bustling place with granaries, temples, workshops and a main street, and its remains, managed by English Heritage, are among the most important Roman sites in Britain. The museum displays finds including the Corbridge Hoard, a chest of armour and equipment, and the Corbridge Lion, a sculpture of a lion attacking a stag.

   Read the complete Corbridge write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Corbridge. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 9.

4. 4. Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 9

   Nine Roman miles west of the wall's starting point at Wallsend, the frontier is already climbing out of the Tyne valley, and here on the edge of Newburn and Heddon-on-the-Wall you can still find it in the fields. Emperor Hadrian ordered the wall in AD 122, a stone barrier across the narrowest part of northern Britain from the Tyne to the Solway, and behind it the army dug the Vallum, a broad ditch flanked by earth mounds that marked the military zone from the civilian south. On this stretch the Vallum is often easier to read than the wall itself, a long shallow trough running through the grass, especially when the evening light comes in low and picks out every bump.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 9 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 9, about halfway. Next is back through Corbridge.

5. 5. back through Corbridge

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Corbridge write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Corbridge sits at 99 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet.

6. 6. back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet 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 and associated features bet comes up about 116 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ.

7. 7. Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ closes the day.