Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl and Skinburness

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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 Hadrian's Wall between Apple Garth.

2. 2. Hadrian's Wall between Apple Garth

   The Solway Firth is a strange piece of sea. It is wide and shallow and has some of the biggest tidal ranges in Britain, and at low water it empties into a landscape of sand, mud and channels where the tide can return faster than a walker can run. On its northern shore, the Scottish side, the land around Eastriggs and Annan is flat salt marsh and farmland, backed by low green hills, and across the water you can see the Cumbrian fells rising bluish and far off. The Roman frontier ended on the other side, at Bowness, but the Romans watched this shore too, and the wall's western run along the English edge is the reason the area is on the heritage map.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall between Apple Garth write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Hadrian's Wall between Apple Garth comes up about 13 km into the recorded legs. Next is Skinburness.

3. 3. Skinburness

   Skinburness is a scatter of houses at the tip of a shingle spit on the Solway coast of Cumbria, just north of Silloth, looking across the wide, shimmering estuary to the hills of Scotland. When the tide goes out, the Solway empties into vast expanses of sand and mud, with channels winding through them, and the light changes constantly as clouds race overhead. On clear evenings, the sunsets over the Scottish hills, with the dark bulk of Criffel opposite, are spectacular.

   Read the complete Skinburness write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 41 km into the recorded legs you reach Skinburness. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall between Apple Garth.

4. 4. back through Hadrian's Wall between Apple Garth

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall between Apple Garth 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 between Apple Garth, late in the day. Next is Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl.

5. 5. 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

   Back at Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl. That is the ride.