Hadrian's Wall between Port Carlisle and B and The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
261 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 04
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.
261 km from Annan to Annan, about 4 h 04 of riding. It goes by way of Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The, Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti, Haltonchesters Roman fort and The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hadrian's Wall between Port Carlisle and B
The western end of Hadrian's Wall is not where most people expect. Instead of a grand terminus, the frontier fades out among the tidal mud and salt marsh of the Solway Firth, near the village of Bowness-on-Solway, where the last fort once stood. Between Port Carlisle and Bowness the wall is almost entirely gone, its stones carried away for later buildings, and what survives is a line across the fields, a slight rise and a path along the shore. In this section the wall was originally built of turf rather than stone, a cheaper material for the flatter, softer ground.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall between Port Carlisle and B is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The.
2. Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The
Do not expect a great stone wall here. Near Brampton, on the stretch running out toward the A6071, Hadrian's Wall is mostly a matter of earthworks and imagination: a line in a field, a softened ditch, the long parallel banks of the vallum to the south. In this western sector the wall was originally built of turf and timber before being rebuilt in stone, and centuries of farmers and builders carried off the dressed stones for barns and churches. What survives is listed as part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and once your eye tunes in, you start seeing the line everywhere.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti.
3. Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti
Haltwhistle likes to call itself the centre of Britain, a claim based on being halfway between the north and south coasts of the island, and while other towns dispute it, nobody disputes that it is the best base for exploring the central section of Hadrian's Wall. Just north of the town, on the rough ground below the crags, Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp is one of several marching camps where Roman troops on the move dug defences for a night or longer, and the label includes a section of the vallum nearby. It is all 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 68 km into the recorded legs you reach Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti. Next is Haltonchesters Roman fort.
4. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Haltonchesters Roman fort, about halfway. Next is The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg.
5. The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg
Steel Rigg is the place everyone photographs. The crag rises steeply from the road, with the Wall running along its top and dipping into a gap known as Sycamore Gap, where a single tree stood for generations in a perfect V of the hills, until it was felled one night in September 2023. The loss caused shock across the country, and the stump now sprouts new shoots. The vallum, the great ditch and mounds south of the Wall, runs beside the road at the foot of the crags, and here it is clearly visible, a long straight hollow in the field, with the mounds standing on either side.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 194 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The.
8. back through Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 261 km.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall between Port Carlisle and B to Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The
Hadrian's Wall between Port Carlisle and B → Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The to Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti
Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The → Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti to Haltonchesters Roman fort
Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti → Haltonchesters Roman fort is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Haltonchesters Roman fort to The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg
Haltonchesters Roman fort → The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg to back through Haltonchesters Roman fort
The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg → back through Haltonchesters Roman fort is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Haltonchesters Roman fort to back through Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti
back through Haltonchesters Roman fort → back through Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti to back through Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The
back through Seatsides 1 Roman temporary camp and secti → back through Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The to Hadrian's Wall between Port Carlisle and B
back through Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The → Hadrian's Wall between Port Carlisle and B is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.