Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 and Hadrian's Wall between the road to Garthsi
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
252 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 40
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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.
252 km from Prudhoe to Prudhoe, about 3 h 40 of riding. On the way it passes Stone circle, The vallum between the road to Garthside a, Defended settlement and Roman signal stati and Hadrian's Wall between the road to Garthsi. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632
East of Hexham, the Roman frontier crosses gentler country, a rolling landscape of fields, hedges and small woods north of the Tyne valley. Here the Wall itself has mostly disappeared, its stones long since recycled into farmhouses, field walls and the eighteenth-century Military Road that runs along its line. But the vallum, the broad ditch with mounds on either side that marked the southern edge of the military zone, survives in places as a clear earthwork across the fields, and walkers on the Hadrian's Wall Path follow it for miles. This section is part of the same World Heritage site as the dramatic crags further west.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 is where the day begins. Next is Stone circle.
2. Stone circle
Long before the Romans built their wall across northern England, people were raising stones on these moors. Close to the line of Hadrian's Wall, in the hills north of Haydon Bridge and Haltwhistle, a small prehistoric stone circle stands in the rough grass, a few weathered boulders arranged in a ring, probably dating from the Bronze Age. Its exact purpose is unknown, but circles like this were often used for ceremonies or burials, and many have legends attached to them.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Stone circle comes up 34 km in. Next is The vallum between the road to Garthside a.
3. The vallum between the road to Garthside a
Brampton is a small red sandstone market town at the edge of the Pennines, and just north of it, where the land rises toward the Irthing valley, a stretch of the vallum runs across the fields near Garthside. The vallum, the great ditch and banks that ran south of Hadrian's Wall, is often clearer than the wall itself in this area, because the stone of the wall was carried off long ago to build farmhouses, churches and even a priory. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site, and it is best seen in low light, when the earthworks cast long shadows.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
68 km in you reach The vallum between the road to Garthside a. Next is Defended settlement and Roman signal stati.
4. Defended settlement and Roman signal stati
The South Tyne valley below Haydon Bridge is one of the best places in England to understand why the Romans chose this line. To the north rises the long whinstone crag, the Whin Sill, a hard dark rock that stands up in a series of cliffs facing north, and along its crest Hadrian's Wall once ran. South of it lies the valley, with the river, the old road called the Stanegate and a string of forts. A defended settlement and signal station here would have been part of this web, sitting on high ground where a fire or flag could pass news along the line in minutes.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Defended settlement and Roman signal stati, about halfway. Next is Hadrian's Wall between the road to Garthsi.
5. Hadrian's Wall between the road to Garthsi
The Emperor Hadrian visited Britain in AD 122 and ordered a wall built from coast to coast, and the soldiers who did the work left their marks in stone that still stands across the north of England. The section near Brampton, in Cumbria, lies toward the western end of the Wall, where it crossed gentler country toward Carlisle and the Solway Firth. Here the Wall was first built partly in turf and later rebuilt in stone, and the remains of turrets, milecastles and the ditch can still be traced in the fields. Hadrian's Wall is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 252 km.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 to Stone circle
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 → Stone circle is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stone circle to The vallum between the road to Garthside a
Stone circle → The vallum between the road to Garthside a is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The vallum between the road to Garthside a to Defended settlement and Roman signal stati
The vallum between the road to Garthside a → Defended settlement and Roman signal stati is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Defended settlement and Roman signal stati to Hadrian's Wall between the road to Garthsi
Defended settlement and Roman signal stati → Hadrian's Wall between the road to Garthsi is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall between the road to Garthsi to back through Defended settlement and Roman signal stati
Hadrian's Wall between the road to Garthsi → back through Defended settlement and Roman signal stati is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Defended settlement and Roman signal stati to back through The vallum between the road to Garthside a
back through Defended settlement and Roman signal stati → back through The vallum between the road to Garthside a is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The vallum between the road to Garthside a to back through Stone circle
back through The vallum between the road to Garthside a → back through Stone circle is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stone circle to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632
back through Stone circle → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.