Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal and Hadrian's Wall between the track to Cockmo

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal

   North of Hexham, where the land rises above the Tyne valley, the B6318, the military road built in the eighteenth century partly on top of Hadrian's Wall, runs straight across open country, and here, near the hamlet of St Oswald's, the remains of the wall and the vallum, the great earthwork that ran along its southern side, are clearly visible in the fields. The vallum was a broad ditch flanked by mounds, marking a military zone, and its scale still impresses. This stretch is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal 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 St Oswal 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 13 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall between the track to Cockmo.

3. 3. Hadrian's Wall between the track to Cockmo

   The stretch of Wall near Cawfields is where the whole thing makes the most sense, because the Romans used the landscape. Here the Great Whin Sill, a hard ridge of dark dolerite, rises in a line of crags along the north, and the Wall runs along the top of it, looking down over a drop on one side and a long slope on the other. Close to Cockmount Hill, the Wall and its southern ditch, the vallum, are both visible, and the milefortlet at Cawfields is one of the best preserved on the line, a square enclosure with a gateway still standing. Nearby, an old quarry has filled with water to make a small, dark lake at the foot of the crags.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall between the track to Cockmo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 28 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall between the track to Cockmo. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet.

4. 4. 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, late in the day. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal.

5. 5. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal 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 St Oswal. That is the ride.