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CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel and Burrow Walls Roman fort

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
157 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 35
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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

A 157 km round trip from Carlisle - roughly 2 h 35 in the saddle. The stops in between: Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha, Wolsty South tower 13b, Burrow Walls Roman fort and back through Wolsty South tower 13b. The line favours views over speed.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

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

    Carlisle was a Roman town before it was an English one. Luguvalium grew beside the Eden, and just across the river at Stanwix stood the largest fort on Hadrian's Wall, home to a cavalry regiment of a thousand men. The wall itself ran along the north side of today's city, and though houses and roads cover it, its line can be traced by plaques and fragments, and the wall and its Vallum are part of the UNESCO listing. A stretch of the ditch and the foundations of milecastles are visible beyond the suburbs.

    Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel 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 fiel is where the day begins. Next is Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha.

  2. 2. Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha

    The Solway Firth is shallow and wide on its Scottish side, and between Annan and Gretna the land is flat and green, with sheep and cattle, field boundaries lined with hawthorn, and long views across the water to the Lake District hills.

    Read the complete Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Wolsty South tower 13b.

  3. 3. Wolsty South tower 13b

    Hadrian's Wall gets the fame, but the Roman frontier did not simply stop at Bowness-on-Solway. Beyond the end of the wall, a chain of milefortlets and towers continued down the Cumbrian coast, watching the Solway Firth for raiders from the north. Wolsty South, tower 13b, was one of them, a small stone watchtower near Silloth on the low, windy coast. There is little to see today, often just a mark in the ground, but the site is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listed by UNESCO, and its position tells a story: from here, Roman soldiers looked across the water to the hills of Scotland.

    Read the complete Wolsty South tower 13b write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Wolsty South tower 13b. Next is Burrow Walls Roman fort.

  4. 4. Burrow Walls Roman fort

    On the northern edge of Workington, near the mouth of the river Derwent, a fragment of stone wall stands alone in a field, a jagged piece of masonry rising above the grass. It is part of Burrow Walls, a Roman fort that guarded the Cumbrian coast, one of the chain of defences that extended from the western end of Hadrian's Wall down the shore to watch for raiders crossing from Scotland and Ireland. Much of the fort's stone was reused in a medieval building on the site, and what survives today is modest, but it is part of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage site and has a lonely charm, with views over the sea and the river.

    Read the complete Burrow Walls Roman fort write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Burrow Walls Roman fort, about halfway. Next is back through Wolsty South tower 13b.

  5. 5. back through Wolsty South tower 13b

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Wolsty South tower 13b write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    back through Wolsty South tower 13b sits at 105 km, about halfway. Next is back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha.

  6. 6. back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha comes up about 132 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.

  7. 7. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel 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 fiel closes the day.

Leg by leg

Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha

Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha to Wolsty South tower 13b

Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha → Wolsty South tower 13b is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Wolsty South tower 13b to Burrow Walls Roman fort

Wolsty South tower 13b → Burrow Walls Roman fort is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Burrow Walls Roman fort to back through Wolsty South tower 13b

Burrow Walls Roman fort → back through Wolsty South tower 13b is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Wolsty South tower 13b to back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha

back through Wolsty South tower 13b → back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel

back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

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