Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 and Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T · 198 km from Wallsend
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
198 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 50
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.
198 km from Wallsend to Wallsend, about 2 h 50 of riding. It goes by way of Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel, Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T and back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.
2. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Just west of Chollerford the road climbs onto higher ground and the Wall begins to show itself, first as a hump in the fields, then as a ditch and earthwork running alongside the tarmac. This is the central sector of Hadrian's Wall, built from the 120s on the orders of the emperor Hadrian to mark the northern edge of Roman Britain, and the stretch around Carrawburgh is one of the most atmospheric. The vallum, a broad ditch flanked by mounds on the southern side of the Wall, is especially clear here, and it shows the Roman frontier was not just a wall but a whole military zone, with forts, milecastles, turrets, roads and earthworks.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel comes up about 51 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T.
3. Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T
Where does the Wall go when it reaches a city? In Carlisle, it takes a quiet route under the pavement. The Roman fort of Luguvalium stood here, on the south bank of the River Eden, to guard a crossing, and the line of the frontier ran north of the town, through what is now the suburb of Stanwix. Along the road between Houghton Road and the river, you are following a stretch where the Wall once stood, though you would need a map and a good imagination to see it. A small plaque, a piece of ditch or a slightly raised bank is all that remains.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 99 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.
4. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T is 48 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.