Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel and Roman fort and watch tower
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
272 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 24
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.
From Haydon Bridge it runs 272 km to Haydon Bridge; allow about 4 h 24 of riding. The stops in between: Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel, Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of, Beckfoot Roman fort and Roman fort and watch tower. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Here the Wall is at its most dramatic. In the central sector of Hadrian's Wall, north of Haydon Bridge and Hexham in Northumberland, the Roman frontier runs along the top of the Whin Sill, a long ridge of hard volcanic rock that breaks the moorland into a series of north-facing cliffs. The Romans built their wall right along the crest, using the natural defences, and the result is a line of stone that rises and falls with the crags like the spine of a great animal. Behind it, to the south, runs the vallum, a broad earthwork ditch with mounds on either side that marked the military zone, still clearly visible across the fields.
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 Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.
2. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
East of Carlisle, near the market town of Brampton, Hadrian's Wall crosses a landscape of rolling farmland, hedges and woods along the valley of the River Irthing. Here the wall and its vallum, the great earthwork ditch that ran behind it on the southern side, cross fields where the stone has mostly been robbed for farm buildings, but the earthworks remain clearly visible as long ridges and hollows in the grass.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of.
3. Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of
The Solway Firth, west of Carlisle, is a wide, shallow estuary where the Cumbrian plain opens out to the sea, and the marshes and farmland on its southern shore are the western end of Hadrian's Wall, with the Scottish hills visible on the far side. The land is low, wet and windy, with cattle in the fields and tall skies full of birds, and a visitor will find little that looks like Roman engineering until they look closely at the ground.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 61 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of. Next is Beckfoot Roman fort.
4. Beckfoot Roman fort
Most people think Hadrian's Wall ended at Bowness-on-Solway, and in stone it did. But the Romans did not trust the shallow Solway Firth to keep raiders out, so they carried their defences on down the Cumbrian coast for many miles: a chain of small milefortlets and watchtowers, with proper forts at intervals, all the way to Maryport and beyond. Beckfoot is one of those forts, on a low bluff a few kilometres south of Silloth, looking straight across the water to Scotland. Above ground there is almost nothing, just a field with faint outlines, but aerial photos and excavations have shown the fort, its civilian settlement and its cemetery, and coastal erosion keeps nibbling at the remains.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Beckfoot Roman fort, about halfway. Next is Roman fort and watch tower.
5. Roman fort and watch tower
The Solway Firth is the border's wet edge, a wide estuary with some of the biggest tides in Britain, and the Romans built the western end of Hadrian's Wall right on its southern shore. Here, a few kilometres west of Carlisle, a fort and a watchtower stood in a low, open country of marsh and meadow, watching the crossing points across the water. The route passes Biglands House and the Stangate at Crosby Lodge, local names that mark an old road, and the landscape has the long, flat, windswept character that makes this corner of Cumbria feel remote even close to a city.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 210 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.
8. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 272 km.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of to Beckfoot Roman fort
Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of → Beckfoot Roman fort is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beckfoot Roman fort to Roman fort and watch tower
Beckfoot Roman fort → Roman fort and watch tower is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roman fort and watch tower to back through Beckfoot Roman fort
Roman fort and watch tower → back through Beckfoot Roman fort is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Beckfoot Roman fort to back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of
back through Beckfoot Roman fort → back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.