Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B630 and Boothby Roman fort

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B630

   Out at the eastern end of the frontier, the Wall leaves the moors behind and runs through gentle farmland toward Newcastle, and most of what survives here is not stone but earth: the vallum, a broad ditch flanked by banks that the Romans dug just south of the Wall along almost its entire length. Between the Tyne and the Military Road, near Heddon-on-the-Wall and Rudchester, the vallum can be traced in the fields as a long hollow, and the Wall itself lies largely under the road or as low courses in the grass. Its purpose is still debated, but most scholars see it as a boundary marking the military zone, controlling who could approach the Wall.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B630 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 the B630 is where the day begins. Next is Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags.

2. 2. 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.

   Read the complete Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Boothby Roman fort.

3. 3. Boothby Roman fort

   Brampton is a small red-sandstone market town on the edge of the northern Pennines, and just outside it, on the line of the old Stanegate road, lay Boothby, one of the Roman forts that guarded the frontier before Hadrian's Wall was built. There is nothing much to see on the ground now, only a field and a slight rise, but the location is a good jumping-off point for some of the best riding and the best Wall sites in Cumbria.

   Read the complete Boothby Roman fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Boothby Roman fort. Next is back through Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags.

4. 4. back through Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags, late in the day. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B630.

5. 5. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B630

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B630 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 the B630. That is the ride.