Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel and The vallum between Oatens Bank
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
116 km
Riding-time estimate
1 h 34
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
116 km from Haydon Bridge to Haydon Bridge, about 1 h 34 of riding. On the way it passes Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac, Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc, Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6 and The vallum between Oatens Bank.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Just west of Chollerford the road climbs onto higher ground and the Wall begins to show itself, first as a hump in the fields, then as a ditch and earthwork running alongside the tarmac. This is the central sector of Hadrian's Wall, built from the 120s on the orders of the emperor Hadrian to mark the northern edge of Roman Britain, and the stretch around Carrawburgh is one of the most atmospheric. The vallum, a broad ditch flanked by mounds on the southern side of the Wall, is especially clear here, and it shows the Roman frontier was not just a wall but a whole military zone, with forts, milecastles, turrets, roads and earthworks.
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 trac.
2. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac
Just north of Hexham, the A road climbs out of the Tyne valley and meets the Roman frontier on a high, windy shoulder of Northumberland. Here, near Acomb, Wall and the crossing of the North Tyne at Chollerford, the line of Hadrian's Wall and its vallum runs across open farmland, sometimes visible as a low bank, sometimes followed by the road itself. Like every stretch of the frontier, it belongs to the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and this middle section is where the wall starts to feel serious, heading west into the wild central crags.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac comes up about 15 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc.
3. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc
Most people meet Hadrian's Wall in the wild middle section around Housesteads, where it rides the crags of the Whin Sill. Out here at the eastern end, a few miles from Newcastle, it is a quieter, more domestic affair, and that is part of its charm. Heddon on the Wall, four kilometres away, keeps one of the longest surviving stretches of the wall's full broad foundation on this side of the country, a solid run of masonry beside the road, and the ground around it preserves the vallum, the great flat-bottomed ditch with banks on either side that the Romans dug just south of the wall to mark the military zone. Begun under the emperor Hadrian in AD 122, the whole frontier ran from the Tyne to the Solway, and it is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 27 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc. Next is Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6.
4. Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6
Wall mile 6 is not a place name but a measurement, since the Romans divided Hadrian's Wall into numbered miles counting from the east, and the sixth mile falls at Benwell, now a western suburb of Newcastle. Here, between terraces of Victorian houses, the remains of the Roman fort of Condercum once looked out over the Tyne valley, and you can still see a stretch of the Wall's foundation, the base of a turret and the remains of a small temple dedicated to a local god, Antenociticus, one of the few such temples to survive along the frontier. The fort stood on a ridge above the river, a good place to watch for trouble and a good place to be seen.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6, about halfway. Next is The vallum between Oatens Bank.
5. The vallum between Oatens Bank
Look south of the road near Oatens Bank, just west of Heddon on the Wall, and you will see it: a broad, flat-bottomed ditch running across the fields, with a low mound on either side. That is the vallum, and it is one of the strangest and most debated elements of Hadrian's Wall. It runs parallel to the wall, a short distance to the south, along most of its length, and it seems to have marked the rear edge of the military zone, controlling access from the south rather than defending against attack from the north. Crossings were limited to causeways opposite the forts, which suggests a kind of customs line.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6 comes up about 76 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc.
7. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 90 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac.
8. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 116 km.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc to Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc → Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6 is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6 to The vallum between Oatens Bank
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6 → The vallum between Oatens Bank is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The vallum between Oatens Bank to back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6
The vallum between Oatens Bank → back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6 is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6 to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc
back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 6 → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac is 12 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.