Why this ride
205 km from Carlisle to Carlisle, about 3 h 03 of riding. The stops in between: Pasture House, Dubmill Point milefortlet 17, Pasture House turret 3a and back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl and Pasture House turret 3a
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 205 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 03
- 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 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.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
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 Pasture House.
2. Pasture House
The Solway Firth is one of Britain's great tidal estuaries, wide, shallow and quick. At low water, a vast expanse of sand and mud opens, and when the tide returns, it advances across the flats with astonishing speed. Pasture House lies on the English shore, on the Cardurnock peninsula, with the Scottish town of Annan visible across the water about six kilometres to the north. The Romans extended Hadrian's Wall defences down this coast, and Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21, on a neighbouring ride, is one of a chain of small forts that guarded against crossings.
Read the complete Pasture House write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pasture House comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dubmill Point milefortlet 17.
3. Dubmill Point milefortlet 17
Dubmill Point is where the Solway coast road comes closest to the sea, and on stormy days with a high tide, waves break right over the B5300 and the road can be closed. The point is a low spit of shingle and grass between Allonby and Silloth, and here the Romans built milefortlet 17, part of the coastal defences that extended the frontier of Hadrian's Wall down the Cumbrian shore. A small garrison watched the firth for boats crossing from the north, and signals passed from post to post along the coast. Little remains today, but the site is exposed and evocative, with the sea on one side and the flat fields of the coastal plain on the other.
Read the complete Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 62 km into the recorded legs you reach Dubmill Point milefortlet 17. Next is Pasture House turret 3a.
4. Pasture House turret 3a
A turret on Hadrian's Wall was a small stone tower, about the size of a garden shed, built into the wall itself so that two soldiers could shelter and watch the country. Two turrets stood between each pair of milecastles, spaced about a third of a Roman mile apart, which means a signal could be passed along the wall in minutes by lamp, horn or flag. Turret 3a, near Pasture House on the Solway plain, is one of those tiny posts, and it is a good place to imagine the monotony of the job: a cold, damp night, a wide flat horizon, and the wind in the grass.
Read the complete Pasture House turret 3a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pasture House turret 3a, about halfway. Next is back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17.
5. back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 sits at 98 km, about halfway. Next is back through Pasture House.
6. back through Pasture House
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pasture House write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pasture House comes up about 179 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl.
7. Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl closes the day.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl to Pasture House
Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl → Pasture House is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pasture House to Dubmill Point milefortlet 17
Pasture House → Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 to Pasture House turret 3a
Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 → Pasture House turret 3a is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pasture House turret 3a to back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17
Pasture House turret 3a → back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 to back through Pasture House
back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 → back through Pasture House is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pasture House to Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl
back through Pasture House → Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.