Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 and Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
136 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 19
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 Carlisle it runs 136 km to Carlisle; allow about 2 h 19 of riding. On the way it passes Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr, Hadrian's Wall, Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal and back through Hadrian's Wall. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66
The western end of Hadrian's Wall runs right through Carlisle, and the stretch counted as wall mile 66 lies on the edge of the city, close to where the wall crossed the River Eden. The Roman town of Luguvalium grew up here, and the fort at Stanwix, across the river, housed a cavalry regiment and was the largest on the wall. Very little of the stone wall survives in the city, much of it having been robbed for buildings, but the line of the wall and vallum can be traced in places, and the Tullie House museum tells the story of Roman Carlisle with excellent displays.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr.
2. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr
North-east of Brampton, the Wall climbs out of the Irthing valley and runs along a ridge past the hamlet of Banks, and here you can see something many visitors miss: not only the Wall itself, but the vallum, the great earthwork ditch with banks on either side that the Romans dug just south of it. The vallum marked a military zone, a controlled strip where civilians could not wander freely, and seeing its long straight line beside the stone curtain makes the frontier feel less like a wall and more like a whole system of control.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall.
3. Hadrian's Wall
North of Haltwhistle the land rises in a series of dark ridges, and along their crest runs the most dramatic surviving stretch of Hadrian's Wall. Built from AD 122 on the orders of the emperor Hadrian, the wall ran some seventy three miles from the Tyne to the Solway, with forts, milecastles and turrets along its length, and here, between Walltown Crags and Birdoswald, it climbs and drops along the edge of the Whin Sill, a band of hard volcanic rock that forms natural cliffs facing north. The wall 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 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal.
4. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal
North of Hexham, where the land rises above the Tyne valley, the B6318, the military road built in the eighteenth century partly on top of Hadrian's Wall, runs straight across open country, and here, near the hamlet of St Oswald's, the remains of the wall and the vallum, the great earthwork that ran along its southern side, are clearly visible in the fields. The vallum was a broad ditch flanked by mounds, marking a military zone, and its scale still impresses. This stretch 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
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr comes up about 116 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr to Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr → Hadrian's Wall is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal
Hadrian's Wall → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal to back through Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between St Oswal → back through Hadrian's Wall is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr
back through Hadrian's Wall → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr to Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Banks Gr → Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.