Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl and Palisade ditches
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
88 km
Riding-time estimate
1 h 23
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
88 km from Carlisle to Carlisle, about 1 h 23 of riding. On the way it passes The Roman fort and associated civil settle, Palisade ditches and back through The Roman fort and associated civil settle. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl
West of Carlisle, Hadrian's Wall heads out across flat farmland toward the Solway Firth, and the closer you get to the estuary, the quieter it becomes. Along this stretch, the wall itself has largely gone, robbed for stone over the centuries, but the vallum, the wide ditch with its mounds that ran behind it, can still be traced in places, and the line passes the sites of Roman forts and the civilian settlements that grew up around them. At Stanwix, now a suburb on the north bank of the Eden, stood the largest fort on the whole wall, home to a cavalry regiment of a thousand men. Further west, at Burgh by Sands, another fort lies beneath the village and its fortified church, built partly with Roman stone.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl is where the day begins. Next is The Roman fort and associated civil settle.
2. The Roman fort and associated civil settle
Bowness-on-Solway is where Hadrian's Wall ends, or begins, depending on which way you are walking. This quiet village on the southern shore of the Solway Firth sits on top of the Roman fort of Maia, the second largest on the Wall, and its civilian settlement, which together make up the site on the label, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. Almost nothing of the fort survives above ground, as much of the stone went into the houses, church and farm buildings of the village, but you can find Roman stones reused in walls if you look closely.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Roman fort and associated civil settle comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is Palisade ditches.
3. Palisade ditches
Hadrian's Wall did not simply stop at the edge of the Solway. Beyond its western end at Bowness, the Romans continued the frontier down the Cumbrian coast with a chain of milefortlets and towers, and in places with ditches and palisades, to watch over the shoreline and guard against raids across the firth from what is now south west Scotland. The palisade ditches near Silloth are part of that coastal system, faint traces in the flat land behind the dunes, and they are a reminder that the Roman frontier was a complex network that stretched far beyond the famous stone wall.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl to The Roman fort and associated civil settle
Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl → The Roman fort and associated civil settle is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The Roman fort and associated civil settle to Palisade ditches
The Roman fort and associated civil settle → Palisade ditches is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Palisade ditches to back through The Roman fort and associated civil settle
Palisade ditches → back through The Roman fort and associated civil settle is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through The Roman fort and associated civil settle to Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl
back through The Roman fort and associated civil settle → Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.