CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
324 km from Haltwhistle to Haltwhistle, about 4 h 15 of riding. On the way it passes Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7, Kirkbride Roman fort and back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7. The line favours views over speed.
North of Haltwhistle the land rises in a series of dark ridges, and along their crest runs the most dramatic surviving stretch of Hadrian's Wall. Built from AD 122 on the orders of the emperor Hadrian, the wall ran some seventy three miles from the Tyne to the Solway, with forts, milecastles and turrets along its length, and here, between Walltown Crags and Birdoswald, it climbs and drops along the edge of the Whin Sill, a band of hard volcanic rock that forms natural cliffs facing north. The wall is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Hadrian's Wall is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7.
It takes a little imagination to find the Roman frontier in Benwell, a suburb on the western hill of Newcastle, but it is there, tucked between semi-detached houses and bus stops. Wall mile 7 counts the distance from the Wall's eastern end at Wallsend, and in this part of the city the Romans built a fort called Condercum on the high ground above the Tyne, with fine views up and down the river. Most of it now lies under roads and housing, yet two small survivals make the detour worthwhile.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7 comes up about 53 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kirkbride Roman fort.
The tide turns the Solway Firth into an enormous, shifting plain of sand and water, and the Roman fort at Kirkbride stood at the edge of it. Here, at the western limit of the frontier in the lower Eden valley, the Romans built a fort to guard the crossing of the estuary, and the earthworks show a rectangular platform in a field by the village. The fort belonged to the Wall system, which continued along the coast, and the first thing a visitor realises is how big the view is. On a clear day you can see the Scottish hills across the water, and the ridges of Criffel and Burnswark, and the line of the shore bending away to the west.
Read the complete Kirkbride Roman fort write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 162 km into the recorded legs you reach Kirkbride Roman fort. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7, late in the day. Next is Hadrian's Wall.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Hadrian's Wall. That is the ride.
Hadrian's Wall → Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7 is 53 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7 → Kirkbride Roman fort is 109 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Kirkbride Roman fort → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7 is 110 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 7 → Hadrian's Wall is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.