Why this ride
156 km from Carlisle to Carlisle, about 2 h 43 of riding. The stops in between: Skinburness, Brownrigg North tower 21b, Parton Roman fort and back through Brownrigg North tower 21b.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End and Parton Roman fort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 156 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 43
- 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 West End
Out on the Solway plain the land flattens, the sky gets enormous, and the sea is never far off even when you cannot see it. The stretch of the vallum near West End lies between Carlisle and the village of Burgh by Sands, on the last run of Hadrian's Wall towards its western end at Bowness-on-Solway. Here the Roman frontier ran along the edge of the marshes and the estuary, where the tide sweeps in across vast sands and salt marsh. Nothing of the Wall stands above ground in this section, but the line is clear on the map, and the country around has a strange, quiet beauty.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End 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 West End is where the day begins. Next is Skinburness.
2. 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
Skinburness comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is Brownrigg North tower 21b.
3. Brownrigg North tower 21b
Most people think Hadrian's Wall stops at the Solway, but the Roman frontier did not simply end at the water's edge. Beyond Bowness a chain of milefortlets and towers ran on down the Cumbrian coast, watching the sea and the hills of Scotland across the firth, and Brownrigg North, tower 21b in the archaeologists' numbering, was one of them. There is little to see on the ground now, often just a gentle swelling in a field, but stand here and look west and you understand why it was put there: the Solway opens out, and on a clear day the Galloway hills and the Isle of Man line the horizon.
Read the complete Brownrigg North tower 21b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Brownrigg North tower 21b. Next is Parton Roman fort.
4. Parton Roman fort
Hadrian's Wall stopped at Bowness-on-Solway, but the Roman frontier did not. Down the Cumbrian coast, the army built a chain of forts, milefortlets and towers to watch the sea and stop raiders slipping round the end of the Wall, and Parton, just north of Whitehaven, was one of them. The fort is known from excavations and records rather than standing remains, and the coastal defences as a whole are included in the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Standing on the cliffs above the sea, you can see why the Romans worried: across the water lie the Isle of Man and, on clear days, the hills of Scotland.
Read the complete Parton Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Parton Roman fort, about halfway. Next is back through Brownrigg North tower 21b.
5. back through Brownrigg North tower 21b
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Brownrigg North tower 21b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Brownrigg North tower 21b sits at 103 km, about halfway. Next is back through Skinburness.
6. back through Skinburness
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Skinburness comes up about 123 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End.
7. Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End 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 West End closes the day.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End to Skinburness
Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End → Skinburness is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Skinburness to Brownrigg North tower 21b
Skinburness → Brownrigg North tower 21b is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Brownrigg North tower 21b to Parton Roman fort
Brownrigg North tower 21b → Parton Roman fort is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Parton Roman fort to back through Brownrigg North tower 21b
Parton Roman fort → back through Brownrigg North tower 21b is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Brownrigg North tower 21b to back through Skinburness
back through Brownrigg North tower 21b → back through Skinburness is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Skinburness to Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End
back through Skinburness → Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.