Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr and Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
65 km
Riding-time estimate
58 min
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.
From Brampton it runs 65 km to Brampton; allow about 58 min of riding. The stops in between: The section of Stanegate Roman road from F, Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags and back through The section of Stanegate Roman road from F.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
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.
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 The section of Stanegate Roman road from F.
2. The section of Stanegate Roman road from F
Haltwhistle likes to call itself the centre of Britain, and on the road through the South Tyne valley it is easy to believe that this is where England quietly runs out of people. Just north of the town, the line of the Stanegate, the Roman road that linked Carlisle with Corbridge, crosses farmland on the flank of the valley. Little of it shows as more than a faint agger, a raised bank under the grass, but it is older than Hadrian's Wall, which runs along the crags a few kilometres to the north.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The section of Stanegate Roman road from F comes up about 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags.
3. Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags
The Wall needed millions of dressed stones, and the Romans quarried them close to where they were needed. On Queen's Crags, a ridge of sandstone north of the Wall near Housesteads, they left a calling card: an inscription cut into the rock face, one of several known Roman quarry inscriptions along the frontier, recording a soldier or unit at work. It is a small, weathered thing, hard to find without directions, but it is a direct link to the men who cut the stone for the Wall.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 32 km into the recorded legs you reach Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags. Next is back through The section of Stanegate Roman road from F.
4. back through The section of Stanegate Roman road from F
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr to The section of Stanegate Roman road from F
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr → The section of Stanegate Roman road from F is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The section of Stanegate Roman road from F to Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags
The section of Stanegate Roman road from F → Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags to back through The section of Stanegate Roman road from F
Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags → back through The section of Stanegate Roman road from F is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The section of Stanegate Roman road from F to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr
back through The section of Stanegate Roman road from F → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.