Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 and The vallum between the road to Garthside a · 178 km from Wallsend
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
178 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 33
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.
178 km from Wallsend to Wallsend, about 2 h 33 of riding. On the way it passes Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632, Stone circle, The vallum between the road to Garthside a and back through Stone circle. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
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 B632.
2. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632
East of Hexham, the Roman frontier crosses gentler country, a rolling landscape of fields, hedges and small woods north of the Tyne valley. Here the Wall itself has mostly disappeared, its stones long since recycled into farmhouses, field walls and the eighteenth-century Military Road that runs along its line. But the vallum, the broad ditch with mounds on either side that marked the southern edge of the military zone, survives in places as a clear earthwork across the fields, and walkers on the Hadrian's Wall Path follow it for miles. This section is part of the same World Heritage site as the dramatic crags further west.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 comes up about 31 km into the recorded legs. Next is Stone circle.
3. Stone circle
Long before the Romans built their wall across northern England, people were raising stones on these moors. Close to the line of Hadrian's Wall, in the hills north of Haydon Bridge and Haltwhistle, a small prehistoric stone circle stands in the rough grass, a few weathered boulders arranged in a ring, probably dating from the Bronze Age. Its exact purpose is unknown, but circles like this were often used for ceremonies or burials, and many have legends attached to them.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 58 km into the recorded legs you reach Stone circle. Next is The vallum between the road to Garthside a.
4. The vallum between the road to Garthside a
Brampton is a small red sandstone market town at the edge of the Pennines, and just north of it, where the land rises toward the Irthing valley, a stretch of the vallum runs across the fields near Garthside. The vallum, the great ditch and banks that ran south of Hadrian's Wall, is often clearer than the wall itself in this area, because the stone of the wall was carried off long ago to build farmhouses, churches and even a priory. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site, and it is best seen in low light, when the earthworks cast long shadows.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 to Stone circle
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 → Stone circle is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stone circle to The vallum between the road to Garthside a
Stone circle → The vallum between the road to Garthside a is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The vallum between the road to Garthside a to back through Stone circle
The vallum between the road to Garthside a → back through Stone circle is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Stone circle to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632
back through Stone circle → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 to Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 → Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 0 is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.