Why this ride
120 km from Newburn to Newburn, about 1 h 38 of riding. The stops in between: Haltonchesters Roman fort, Grindon School Roman temporary camp, Crooks Roman temporary camp and back through Grindon School Roman temporary camp.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f and Crooks Roman temporary camp
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 120 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 38
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f
Here, at the western edge of Newcastle, the Roman frontier starts to escape the city. Wall mile 8 lies around Newburn and Throckley, with Blaydon across the Tyne and the suburbs thinning into fields as you head west. The masonry itself has mostly vanished under roads, houses and farmland, but the line of the Wall and the great earthwork of the Vallum to its south can still be followed in hummocks, ditches and the occasional consolidated stretch of stone, most famously a little further west at Heddon-on-the-Wall, where a long run survives at nearly its full original width.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f 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 in wall mile 8 f is where the day begins. Next is Haltonchesters Roman fort.
2. Haltonchesters Roman fort
Where Dere Street, the great Roman road north from York, met Hadrian's Wall, the Romans built a gateway, and a mile or so west of it they placed the fort of Haltonchesters, known to them as Onnum. Today the site is a grassy field on the edge of the Military Road above the Tyne valley, with little to see beyond the faint outline of ramparts. But the setting is the thing: rolling Northumberland farmland, stone walls, the Tyne below, and on a clear day views far to the north and south.
Read the complete Haltonchesters Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Haltonchesters Roman fort comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Grindon School Roman temporary camp.
3. Grindon School Roman temporary camp
Marching soldiers did not sleep in the open. Every night on campaign, a Roman army dug a ditch and threw up a rampart around its tents, and the faint outlines of these temporary camps are scattered across Northumberland, some dating from the conquest of the north, others from the building of the Wall. The camp near the old Grindon school, close to the Stanegate a little north of Haydon Bridge, is one of these. You will need a good map and a low sun to make out its banks.
Read the complete Grindon School Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 40 km into the recorded legs you reach Grindon School Roman temporary camp. Next is Crooks Roman temporary camp.
4. Crooks Roman temporary camp
The Roman army on the march built a camp every night: a rectangle of ditch and rampart, with tents inside, defended by sentries. These temporary camps, often used only once or for a short campaign, left faint traces in the landscape, and many have been found from the air in the north of England. Crooks, near Haltwhistle and Greenhead, in the area where Northumberland meets Cumbria, is one of several temporary camps along the line of Hadrian's Wall, probably used by the soldiers who built the Wall in the second century.
Read the complete Crooks Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Crooks Roman temporary camp, about halfway. Next is back through Grindon School Roman temporary camp.
5. back through Grindon School Roman temporary camp
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Grindon School Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Grindon School Roman temporary camp sits at 99 km, about halfway. Next is back through Haltonchesters Roman fort.
6. back through Haltonchesters Roman fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Haltonchesters Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Haltonchesters Roman fort comes up about 99 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f.
7. Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f 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 in wall mile 8 f closes the day.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f to Haltonchesters Roman fort
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f → Haltonchesters Roman fort is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Haltonchesters Roman fort to Grindon School Roman temporary camp
Haltonchesters Roman fort → Grindon School Roman temporary camp is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Grindon School Roman temporary camp to Crooks Roman temporary camp
Grindon School Roman temporary camp → Crooks Roman temporary camp is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Crooks Roman temporary camp to back through Grindon School Roman temporary camp
Crooks Roman temporary camp → back through Grindon School Roman temporary camp is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Grindon School Roman temporary camp to back through Haltonchesters Roman fort
back through Grindon School Roman temporary camp → back through Haltonchesters Roman fort is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Haltonchesters Roman fort to Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f
back through Haltonchesters Roman fort → Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.