Why this ride
From Carlisle it runs 222 km to Carlisle; allow about 3 h 04 of riding. It goes by way of Red House Roman camp, Durham Castle and Cathedral and back through Red House Roman camp. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La and Durham Castle and Cathedral
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 222 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 04
- 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
Red House Roman camp → Durham Castle and Cathedral
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 63 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 61 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La
Just east of Carlisle, near the village of Scotby, the Wall leaves almost no mark on the land. Here, at the western end of the Roman frontier, it was built first of turf and timber before being rebuilt in stone, and much of that stone has since been carried off to build farmhouses, churches and field walls. What survives is mostly buried, a faint line in the pasture or a slight ridge followed by a hedge. The vallum, the great earthwork that ran behind the wall, sometimes shows as a shallow trough in the fields. Yet this quiet stretch is part of the same World Heritage site as the dramatic crags further east, and walking the Hadrian's Wall Path through it gives a sense of continuity across the whole country.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La 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 Birky La is where the day begins. Next is Red House Roman camp.
2. Red House Roman camp
A few kilometres west of Hexham the South and North Tyne have long since joined, and the valley widens into a level green floor of fields, hedges and small woods, with the Wall's ridge just visible to the north. The Red House Roman camp lies in this farmland, about five kilometres from Haydon Bridge, Acomb and Hexham, on the Roman road known as the Stanegate, which ran across the neck of Britain from Carlisle to Corbridge.
Read the complete Red House Roman camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Red House Roman camp comes up about 51 km into the recorded legs. Next is Durham Castle and Cathedral.
3. Durham Castle and Cathedral
The river Wear loops around a rocky peninsula in a tight horseshoe, and on top of it, rising above the trees, stand Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle, one of the most impressive views in Britain. The Normans built both in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, soon after the Conquest, as a statement of power in the turbulent north. The cathedral is a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture, with massive columns carved with zigzags and spirals, and its stone rib vaults are among the earliest of their kind in Europe, pointing the way to Gothic architecture. Together, castle and cathedral were listed by UNESCO in 1986.
Read the complete Durham Castle and Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 112 km into the recorded legs you reach Durham Castle and Cathedral. Next is back through Red House Roman camp.
4. back through Red House Roman camp
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Red House Roman camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Red House Roman camp, late in the day. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La.
5. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La to Red House Roman camp
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La → Red House Roman camp is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Red House Roman camp to Durham Castle and Cathedral
Red House Roman camp → Durham Castle and Cathedral is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Durham Castle and Cathedral to back through Red House Roman camp
Durham Castle and Cathedral → back through Red House Roman camp is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Red House Roman camp to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La
back through Red House Roman camp → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.