Skip to content
CurveScout

CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE

Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 1 and Defended settlement and Roman signal stati

Plan this ride

Recorded distance
245 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 34
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.

Open this ride in CurveScout

Why this ride

From Wallsend it runs 245 km to Wallsend; allow about 3 h 34 of riding. The stops in between: Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632, Stone circle, The vallum between the road to Garthside a and Defended settlement and Roman signal stati. It suits an unhurried touring pace.

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

  1. 1. Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 1

    Wallsend, the name itself is the clue. This is the east end of Hadrian's Wall, on the north bank of the Tyne about five miles from the centre of Newcastle, where the Romans built a fort called Segedunum to guard the river and anchor the frontier. The label's Wall mile 1 is a reference to the first stretch of the Wall measured from here, and the fort and the short section of reconstructed Wall nearby are the real thing to see. Wallsend is a working Tyneside town of about forty-three thousand people, and Hebburn, on the other bank, has a similar shape; both were built around shipyards and mines.

    Read the complete Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 1 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 1 is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632.

  2. 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.

    Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 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 B632 comes up about 30 km into the recorded legs. Next is Stone circle.

  3. 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.

    Read the complete Stone circle write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Stone circle. Next is The vallum between the road to Garthside a.

  4. 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.

    Read the complete The vallum between the road to Garthside a write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    The vallum between the road to Garthside a, about halfway. Next is Defended settlement and Roman signal stati.

  5. 5. Defended settlement and Roman signal stati

    The South Tyne valley below Haydon Bridge is one of the best places in England to understand why the Romans chose this line. To the north rises the long whinstone crag, the Whin Sill, a hard dark rock that stands up in a series of cliffs facing north, and along its crest Hadrian's Wall once ran. South of it lies the valley, with the river, the old road called the Stanegate and a string of forts. A defended settlement and signal station here would have been part of this web, sitting on high ground where a fire or flag could pass news along the line in minutes.

    Read the complete Defended settlement and Roman signal stati write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    Defended settlement and Roman signal stati sits at 138 km, about halfway. Next is back through The vallum between the road to Garthside a.

  6. 6. back through The vallum between the road to Garthside a

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete The vallum between the road to Garthside a write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    back through The vallum between the road to Garthside a comes up about 157 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Stone circle.

  7. 7. back through Stone circle

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Stone circle write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    about 187 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Stone circle. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632.

  8. 8. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 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 B632, late in the day. Next is Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 1.

  9. 9. Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 1

    Return visit. Read the place description above.

    Read the complete Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 1 write-up.

    Recorded stop-planning note

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

    Planning note

    The route ends here after 245 km.

Leg by leg

Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 1 to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632

Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 1 → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 is 30 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 Defended settlement and Roman signal stati

The vallum between the road to Garthside a → Defended settlement and Roman signal stati is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

Defended settlement and Roman signal stati to back through The vallum between the road to Garthside a

Defended settlement and Roman signal stati → back through The vallum between the road to Garthside a is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

back through The vallum between the road to Garthside a to back through Stone circle

back through The vallum between the road to Garthside a → back through Stone circle is 30 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 1

back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the B632 → Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 1 is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.

More motorcycle rides nearby