Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 and Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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.

   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 is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.

2. 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.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel 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 between the fiel comes up about 50 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T.

3. 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.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 98 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. 4. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel 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 and vallum between the fiel, late in the day. Next is Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0.

5. 5. 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 at Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0. That is the ride.