Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc and Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
181 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 56
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.
From Prudhoe it runs 181 km to Prudhoe; allow about 2 h 56 of riding. It goes by way of Brown Moor Roman temporary camp, Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S, Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav and back through Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc is where the day begins. Next is Brown Moor Roman temporary camp.
2. Brown Moor Roman temporary camp
A couple of kilometres west of Chollerford, the Military Road climbs onto open moorland, and at a place called Limestone Corner, the most northerly point of Hadrian's Wall, the Romans gave up. Their ditch in front of the Wall was supposed to be cut through solid rock here, and you can still see where they started: huge blocks of whinstone split by wedges and left lying in the ditch, with holes for the levers still visible, as if the workers had just walked away for lunch. Brown Moor, close by, is the site of one of several Roman temporary camps in this stretch, where soldiers camped while building the Wall or moving through the frontier zone, their outlines barely visible in the rough grass.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Brown Moor Roman temporary camp comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S.
3. Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S
Where Cumbria meets Northumberland in the valley of the river Irthing, the Wall climbs out of a wooded gorge on to open ground, and a Roman road called the Maiden Way ran north from the Wall towards Bewcastle and south towards Kirkby Thore, linking the frontier to the supply routes of the interior.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 58 km into the recorded legs you reach Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S. Next is Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav.
4. Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav
Carlisle was the western hub of Hadrian's Wall, and on its northern edge, at Stanwix, stood the largest fort on the whole frontier. Known to the Romans as Uxelodunum, it held a cavalry regiment about a thousand strong, and its commander was one of the most important officers on the wall. Little of it is visible now, since the fort lies under the streets and gardens of a suburb, but the line of the wall can be traced through the town, in parts of the pavement and the shape of the streets, and a short surviving section lies in a quiet corner near the river Eden.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc closes the day.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc to Brown Moor Roman temporary camp
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc → Brown Moor Roman temporary camp is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Brown Moor Roman temporary camp to Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S
Brown Moor Roman temporary camp → Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S to Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav
Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S → Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav to back through Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S
Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav → back through Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S to back through Brown Moor Roman temporary camp
back through Maiden Way Roman road from B6318 to 450m S → back through Brown Moor Roman temporary camp is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Brown Moor Roman temporary camp to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc
back through Brown Moor Roman temporary camp → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Marc is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.