Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B630 and Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
241 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 39
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Prudhoe it runs 241 km to Prudhoe; allow about 3 h 39 of riding. The stops in between: Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags, Boothby Roman fort, The vallum and early Roman road between th and Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
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.
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. 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
Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Boothby Roman fort.
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.
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 The vallum and early Roman road between th.
4. The vallum and early Roman road between th
From the Military Road near Sewingshields, look south and you will see a long, straight scar running across the moorland: two mounds and a ditch, keeping pace with the Wall a short way behind it. That is the vallum, the great earthwork the Romans dug along the south side of the frontier to mark a military zone, and running alongside it here are traces of an early Roman road. This stretch near Housesteads is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site, and it is one of the places where the full layout of the frontier, wall, ditch, vallum and road, is easiest to read in the landscape.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The vallum and early Roman road between th, about halfway. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr.
5. 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
The route ends here after 241 km.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B630 to Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B630 → Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags to Boothby Roman fort
Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags → Boothby Roman fort is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Boothby Roman fort to The vallum and early Roman road between th
Boothby Roman fort → The vallum and early Roman road between th is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The vallum and early Roman road between th to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr
The vallum and early Roman road between th → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr to back through The vallum and early Roman road between th
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr → back through The vallum and early Roman road between th is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The vallum and early Roman road between th to back through Boothby Roman fort
back through The vallum and early Roman road between th → back through Boothby Roman fort is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Boothby Roman fort to back through Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags
back through Boothby Roman fort → back through Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B630
back through Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B630 is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.