Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc and Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
120 km
Riding-time estimate
1 h 49
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.
A 120 km round trip from Hexham - roughly 1 h 49 in the saddle. It goes by way of The vallum and early Roman road between th, Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ, Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet and back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc
East of the crags the Wall country softens into the Tyne valley, a green landscape of meadows and woods, and near Corbridge you meet something the Wall itself never had: a town. Corbridge Roman Town, known to the Romans as Coria, grew up at the crossing of the River Tyne and the great north road, Dere Street, and served as a supply base for the army and a market for the civilians who followed it. The granaries and fountain survive, and a museum holds finds such as the famous Corbridge Lion, a sculpture of a lion devouring a stag. The label puts us on a stretch of Wall and vallum near Herd Hill, a few kilometres north-east.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc is where the day begins. Next is The vallum and early Roman road between th.
2. 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 comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ.
3. Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ
Gilsland is a village with a split personality. The boundary between Northumberland and Cumbria runs right through it, along the Poltross Burn, so the houses on one side are in one county and those on the other in another. Hadrian's Wall runs through it too, and the stretch of Wall, vallum and associated features around the village is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. The Wall here crosses the narrow gorge of the burn and the railway line, with a milecastle right next to the old station.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 39 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ. Next is Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet.
4. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through The vallum and early Roman road between th comes up about 100 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc closes the day.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc to The vallum and early Roman road between th
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc → The vallum and early Roman road between th is 20 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 and their associ
The vallum and early Roman road between th → Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ to Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet
Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ → Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ
Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ to back through The vallum and early Roman road between th
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ → back through The vallum and early Roman road between th is 19 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 Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc
back through The vallum and early Roman road between th → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.