Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr and Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr

   North-east of Brampton, the Wall climbs out of the Irthing valley and runs along a ridge past the hamlet of Banks, and here you can see something many visitors miss: not only the Wall itself, but the vallum, the great earthwork ditch with banks on either side that the Romans dug just south of it. The vallum marked a military zone, a controlled strip where civilians could not wander freely, and seeing its long straight line beside the stone curtain makes the frontier feel less like a wall and more like a whole system of control.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr 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 between Banks Gr is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66.

2. 2. Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66

   The western end of Hadrian's Wall runs right through Carlisle, and the stretch counted as wall mile 66 lies on the edge of the city, close to where the wall crossed the River Eden. The Roman town of Luguvalium grew up here, and the fort at Stanwix, across the river, housed a cavalry regiment and was the largest on the wall. Very little of the stone wall survives in the city, much of it having been robbed for buildings, but the line of the wall and vallum can be traced in places, and the Tullie House museum tells the story of Roman Carlisle with excellent displays.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 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 66 comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Biglands House.

3. 3. Biglands House

   Out on the Cumbrian shore of the Solway Firth, at the far western end of Hadrian's frontier, Biglands is a farmhouse name attached to the site of a small Roman milefortlet, one of the posts that carried the Wall's chain of defences down the coast once the stone curtain itself had stopped at Bowness. There is very little to see above ground; the fortlet was excavated and then returned to the grass. What you come for is the setting and the sense of standing at the edge of an empire, looking across a few kilometres of mud and water at Scotland.

   Read the complete Biglands House 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 Biglands House. Next is Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields.

4. 4. Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields

   The Roman frontier did not stop where Hadrian's Wall ended. At Bowness, on the Solway shore, the stone and turf barrier gave out, but a chain of small forts, fortlets and watchtowers continued south along the Cumbrian coast, past Silloth and Maryport to near St Bees, to guard against raiders coming across the water from Scotland and the Irish Sea. Archaeologists still argue about how it worked. Often only a faint platform in a field remains.

   Read the complete Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Roman fortlet 40m SSW of Castle Fields, about halfway. Next is back through Biglands House.

5. 5. back through Biglands House

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Biglands House write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Biglands House sits at 99 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66.

6. 6. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 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 vallum in wall mile 66 comes up about 136 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr.

7. 7. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr 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 between Banks Gr closes the day.