Why this ride
A 132 km round trip from Brampton - roughly 2 h 33 in the saddle. On the way it passes Roman signal station on Mains Rigg, Hadrian's Wall, Frontiers of the Roman Empire and The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The and The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 132 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 33
- 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 from A6071 to The
Do not expect a great stone wall here. Near Brampton, on the stretch running out toward the A6071, Hadrian's Wall is mostly a matter of earthworks and imagination: a line in a field, a softened ditch, the long parallel banks of the vallum to the south. In this western sector the wall was originally built of turf and timber before being rebuilt in stone, and centuries of farmers and builders carried off the dressed stones for barns and churches. What survives is listed as part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and once your eye tunes in, you start seeing the line everywhere.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The 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 from A6071 to The is where the day begins. Next is Roman signal station on Mains Rigg.
2. Roman signal station on Mains Rigg
On a low ridge south of the Wall, near the village of Low Row, the foundations of a Roman stone tower sit in a field with a commanding view up and down the Irthing valley. The signal station on Mains Rigg belonged to the system of the Stanegate, the road that ran from Corbridge to Carlisle before the Wall was built, and it allowed messages to be passed between forts by fire, smoke or flags. From here, on a clear day, you can see for miles: west to Carlisle, east toward the Pennines and north over the Wall.
Read the complete Roman signal station on Mains Rigg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Roman signal station on Mains Rigg comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall.
3. Hadrian's Wall
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.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 33 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall. Next is Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
4. Frontiers of the Roman Empire
The Wall comes into its own here, at the Irthing gorge, where the line runs along a high shelf above the river and you can see why the Romans picked it. Birdoswald fort, known to them as Banna, sits right on that edge, with a long view down the valley and the ground falling away to the water.
Read the complete Frontiers of the Roman Empire write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Frontiers of the Roman Empire, about halfway. Next is The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg.
5. The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg
Steel Rigg is the place everyone photographs. The crag rises steeply from the road, with the Wall running along its top and dipping into a gap known as Sycamore Gap, where a single tree stood for generations in a perfect V of the hills, until it was felled one night in September 2023. The loss caused shock across the country, and the stump now sprouts new shoots. The vallum, the great ditch and mounds south of the Wall, runs beside the road at the foot of the crags, and here it is clearly visible, a long straight hollow in the field, with the mounds standing on either side.
Read the complete The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg sits at 68 km, about halfway. Next is back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
6. back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Frontiers of the Roman Empire write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire comes up about 81 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall.
7. back through Hadrian's Wall
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 96 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Hadrian's Wall. Next is back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg.
8. back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Roman signal station on Mains Rigg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg, late in the day. Next is Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The.
9. Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 132 km.
Leg by leg
Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The to Roman signal station on Mains Rigg
Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The → Roman signal station on Mains Rigg is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roman signal station on Mains Rigg to Hadrian's Wall
Roman signal station on Mains Rigg → Hadrian's Wall is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall to Frontiers of the Roman Empire
Hadrian's Wall → Frontiers of the Roman Empire is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Frontiers of the Roman Empire to The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg
Frontiers of the Roman Empire → The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg to back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire
The vallum between the road to Steel Rigg → back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire to back through Hadrian's Wall
back through Frontiers of the Roman Empire → back through Hadrian's Wall is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall to back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg
back through Hadrian's Wall → back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg to Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The
back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg → Hadrian's Wall & vallum from A6071 to The is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.