Haltonchesters Roman fort and Roman camp

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Haltonchesters Roman fort

   Where Dere Street, the great Roman road north from York, met Hadrian's Wall, the Romans built a gateway, and a mile or so west of it they placed the fort of Haltonchesters, known to them as Onnum. Today the site is a grassy field on the edge of the Military Road above the Tyne valley, with little to see beyond the faint outline of ramparts. But the setting is the thing: rolling Northumberland farmland, stone walls, the Tyne below, and on a clear day views far to the north and south.

   Read the complete Haltonchesters Roman fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Haltonchesters Roman fort is where the day begins. Next is Grindon School Roman temporary camp.

2. 2. Grindon School Roman temporary camp

   Marching soldiers did not sleep in the open. Every night on campaign, a Roman army dug a ditch and threw up a rampart around its tents, and the faint outlines of these temporary camps are scattered across Northumberland, some dating from the conquest of the north, others from the building of the Wall. The camp near the old Grindon school, close to the Stanegate a little north of Haydon Bridge, is one of these. You will need a good map and a low sun to make out its banks.

   Read the complete Grindon School Roman temporary camp write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Grindon School Roman temporary camp comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Crooks Roman temporary camp.

3. 3. Crooks Roman temporary camp

   The Roman army on the march built a camp every night: a rectangle of ditch and rampart, with tents inside, defended by sentries. These temporary camps, often used only once or for a short campaign, left faint traces in the landscape, and many have been found from the air in the north of England. Crooks, near Haltwhistle and Greenhead, in the area where Northumberland meets Cumbria, is one of several temporary camps along the line of Hadrian's Wall, probably used by the soldiers who built the Wall in the second century.

   Read the complete Crooks Roman temporary camp write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 39 km into the recorded legs you reach Crooks Roman temporary camp. Next is Roman camp.

4. 4. Roman camp

   Hadrian's Wall in its central section does what a good border should: it picks the best ridge in the country and sits on top of it. The wall was begun in AD 122, under the emperor Hadrian, and it runs for about eighty Roman miles, roughly 117 kilometres, from the Tyne to the Solway. In the middle stretch, between Haydon Bridge and Haltwhistle, it follows a line of crags called the Whin Sill, a hard, dark volcanic rock that breaks the Northumbrian moors into a series of cliffs, so that the wall looks as if it grew out of the stone.

   Read the complete Roman camp write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Roman camp, about halfway. Next is back through Crooks Roman temporary camp.

5. 5. back through Crooks Roman temporary camp

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Crooks Roman temporary camp write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Crooks Roman temporary camp sits at 99 km, about halfway. Next is back through Grindon School Roman temporary camp.

6. 6. back through Grindon School Roman temporary camp

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Grindon School Roman temporary camp write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Grindon School Roman temporary camp comes up about 106 km into the recorded legs. Next is Haltonchesters Roman fort.

7. 7. Haltonchesters Roman fort

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Haltonchesters Roman fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Haltonchesters Roman fort closes the day.