Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f and Durham Castle and Cathedral

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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 Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0.

2. 2. Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0

   Wall mile zero is where Hadrian's Wall began, or ended, depending on which way you are riding, and it is in the most unlikely setting you could imagine: Wallsend, on the north bank of the Tyne, among terraced streets and the cranes of what was once one of the great shipbuilding rivers of the world. The town's name says it all. Here stood Segedunum, the easternmost fort of the wall, and its foundations have been laid bare beside the road, with a viewing tower that lets you see the whole plan at once, barracks, headquarters and gates, like a diagram on the ground.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Durham Castle and Cathedral.

3. 3. Durham Castle and Cathedral

   The river Wear loops around a rocky peninsula in a tight horseshoe, and on top of it, rising above the trees, stand Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle, one of the most impressive views in Britain. The Normans built both in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, soon after the Conquest, as a statement of power in the turbulent north. The cathedral is a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture, with massive columns carved with zigzags and spirals, and its stone rib vaults are among the earliest of their kind in Europe, pointing the way to Gothic architecture. Together, castle and cathedral were listed by UNESCO in 1986.

   Read the complete Durham Castle and Cathedral write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Durham Castle and Cathedral. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0.

4. 4. back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0, late in the day. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f.

5. 5. 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

   Back at Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 8 f. That is the ride.