Haltwhistle Burn 4 Roman temporary camp and Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
110 km
Riding-time estimate
1 h 30
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.
From Haltwhistle it runs 110 km to Haltwhistle; allow about 1 h 30 of riding. The stops in between: Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac, Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5 and back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Haltwhistle Burn 4 Roman temporary camp
The Haltwhistle Burn runs south from the line of the Wall through a wooded gully, past the site of a small Roman fort on the Stanegate, the older frontier road. This label points to one of several temporary camps near it, the overnight earthworks of Roman armies on the move. Like others in the area, it shows as a low rectangle, visible in dry summers and under low light, and not much more. The Burn itself is more rewarding, a clear stream tumbling over stones between hazel and alder, and the walk beside it takes you to a quiet corner of the valley where the sound of traffic fades.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Haltwhistle Burn 4 Roman temporary camp is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac.
2. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac
Just north of Hexham, the A road climbs out of the Tyne valley and meets the Roman frontier on a high, windy shoulder of Northumberland. Here, near Acomb, Wall and the crossing of the North Tyne at Chollerford, the line of Hadrian's Wall and its vallum runs across open farmland, sometimes visible as a low bank, sometimes followed by the road itself. Like every stretch of the frontier, it belongs to the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and this middle section is where the wall starts to feel serious, heading west into the wild central crags.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5.
3. Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5
Wall mile 5 is in Newcastle, which means that the Roman frontier is under a bus route. The Wall began at Wallsend and ran west, and the antiquarians who surveyed it numbered every Roman mile from there, so mile five falls in Benwell, a hillside district of terraces above the Tyne. Here the old line is now more or less the West Road, a main road into the city, and a short way off the road you can find real Roman stone. A tiny temple dedicated to a local British god called Antenociticus stands in a small garden between modern houses, with its three altars copied in place, and the remains of the Vallum, the broad ditch south of the Wall, crosses a causeway nearby. The fort of Condercum stood on the hill above, with a fine view east down the river.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Haltwhistle Burn 4 Roman temporary camp. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Haltwhistle Burn 4 Roman temporary camp to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac
Haltwhistle Burn 4 Roman temporary camp → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac to Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac → Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5 is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5 to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac
Hadrian's Wall in wall mile 5 → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac to Haltwhistle Burn 4 Roman temporary camp
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the trac → Haltwhistle Burn 4 Roman temporary camp is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.