Why this ride
62 km from Hexham to Hexham, about 56 min of riding. On the way it passes Rudchester Roman fort, Roman fort and back through Rudchester Roman fort. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc and Roman fort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 62 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 56 min
- 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.
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.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc 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 Fenc is where the day begins. Next is Rudchester Roman fort.
2. Rudchester Roman fort
Rudchester, known to the Romans as Vindobala, was the fourth fort along Hadrian's Wall counting from Wallsend at the eastern end. It sat astride the Wall on high ground west of Newcastle, with a garrison of around five hundred soldiers. Today, there is nothing to see above ground but fields and the bumps and hollows of buried walls, with a farm nearby. Excavations in the twentieth century found traces of a temple to Mithras just outside the fort, one of several on the Wall, where soldiers worshipped the god in a dark, cave-like building.
Read the complete Rudchester Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rudchester Roman fort comes up about 14 km into the recorded legs. Next is Roman fort.
3. Roman fort
Newcastle got its name from a castle built in 1080 by Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror, but the hilltop he chose above the Tyne had already been used for centuries. Beneath the Castle Keep and the Black Gate lie the remains of Pons Aelius, a small Roman fort that guarded a bridge across the river near the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. The name honoured Hadrian himself, whose family name was Aelius. Outlines of the fort are marked in the paving around the keep, and the Swing Bridge below crosses the river close to where the Roman bridge stood.
Read the complete Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 32 km into the recorded legs you reach Roman fort. Next is back through Rudchester Roman fort.
4. back through Rudchester Roman fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Rudchester Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Rudchester Roman fort, late in the day. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc.
5. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc 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 Fenc. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc to Rudchester Roman fort
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc → Rudchester Roman fort is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Rudchester Roman fort to Roman fort
Rudchester Roman fort → Roman fort is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roman fort to back through Rudchester Roman fort
Roman fort → back through Rudchester Roman fort is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Rudchester Roman fort to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc
back through Rudchester Roman fort → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.