Why this ride
A 58 km round trip from Benwell - roughly 46 min in the saddle. The stops in between: The vallum between Oatens Bank, Hadrian's Wall & vallum between field boun and back through The vallum between Oatens Bank.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 7 and Hadrian's Wall & vallum between field boun starting at Benwell
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 58 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 46 min
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 7
Hadrian's Wall begins its life not on a windswept crag but in the streets of Newcastle, and wall mile 7 runs through the western suburbs around Benwell and Denton, a few kilometres from the city centre. The Romans numbered the miles westward from the fort at Wallsend, and in this stretch the line of the Wall follows the ridge now taken by the West Road. Most of it lies under houses and tarmac, but fragments surface where you least expect them, which is half the fun.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 7 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 7 is where the day begins. Next is The vallum between Oatens Bank.
2. The vallum between Oatens Bank
Look south of the road near Oatens Bank, just west of Heddon on the Wall, and you will see it: a broad, flat-bottomed ditch running across the fields, with a low mound on either side. That is the vallum, and it is one of the strangest and most debated elements of Hadrian's Wall. It runs parallel to the wall, a short distance to the south, along most of its length, and it seems to have marked the rear edge of the military zone, controlling access from the south rather than defending against attack from the north. Crossings were limited to causeways opposite the forts, which suggests a kind of customs line.
Read the complete The vallum between Oatens Bank write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The vallum between Oatens Bank comes up about 15 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall & vallum between field boun.
3. Hadrian's Wall & vallum between field boun
Hadrian's Wall runs for about seventy-three miles across the north of England, from the Solway Firth in the west to the Tyne in the east, built on the orders of the Emperor Hadrian after his visit to Britain in 122 AD.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall & vallum between field boun write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 29 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall & vallum between field boun. Next is back through The vallum between Oatens Bank.
4. back through The vallum between Oatens Bank
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The vallum between Oatens Bank 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 Oatens Bank, late in the day. Next is Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 7.
5. Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 7
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 7 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 7. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 7 to The vallum between Oatens Bank
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 7 → The vallum between Oatens Bank is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The vallum between Oatens Bank to Hadrian's Wall & vallum between field boun
The vallum between Oatens Bank → Hadrian's Wall & vallum between field boun is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall & vallum between field boun to back through The vallum between Oatens Bank
Hadrian's Wall & vallum between field boun → back through The vallum between Oatens Bank is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The vallum between Oatens Bank to Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 7
back through The vallum between Oatens Bank → Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 7 is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.