Why this ride
153 km from Annan to Annan, about 2 h 39 of riding. On the way it passes Wolsty North tower 13a, Brownrigg North tower 21b, Silloth Golf Course tower 12b and Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Herd Hill North and Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 153 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 39
- 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. Herd Hill North
Bowness-on-Solway is the western end of Hadrian's Wall, a quiet village on a low headland above the estuary, and Herd Hill lies a little farther along the shore on the Cardurnock peninsula. Roman engineers built the wall to Bowness, where the fort of Maia stood, and then continued the defences south along the Cumbrian coast with milefortlets and towers. The northern watchtower on this hill was one of the chain that watched across the water to Scotland, at a place where the Solway is narrow enough to be forded at low tide.
Read the complete Herd Hill North write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Herd Hill North is where the day begins. Next is Wolsty North tower 13a.
2. Wolsty North tower 13a
Silloth is a small Victorian town on the Solway coast of Cumbria, built in the nineteenth century as a port and a seaside resort, with wide cobbled streets, a green along the seafront and views across the Solway Firth to the hills of Scotland. Just south of the town, at Wolsty, the Romans built a tower as part of the defences that extended Hadrian's Wall down the Cumbrian coast. Tower 13a was one of a chain of small towers and milefortlets, spaced along the shore to watch for raiders crossing the firth from the north.
Read the complete Wolsty North tower 13a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wolsty North tower 13a comes up about 31 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 44 km into the recorded legs you reach Brownrigg North tower 21b. Next is Silloth Golf Course tower 12b.
4. Silloth Golf Course tower 12b
Most people think Hadrian's Wall ends at Bowness-on-Solway, where the stone curtain reached the sea. It did, but the frontier did not. From there, the Romans continued their defences down the Cumbrian coast for many miles, with a chain of milefortlets and towers watching the Solway Firth for raiders crossing from what is now Scotland. Tower 12b stood near Silloth, on ground now occupied by the town's golf course. Nothing much is visible, but the location makes sense as soon as you stand on the shore: the firth is wide and shallow, and across the water rises the hill of Criffel in Galloway.
Read the complete Silloth Golf Course tower 12b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Silloth Golf Course tower 12b, about halfway. Next is Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21.
5. Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21
Milefortlets are the small, easily overlooked members of the Roman frontier family. On Hadrian's Wall itself they stood every Roman mile, with a gate through the wall and a tiny garrison, and when the Romans extended the system along the Cumbrian coast, to guard against landings from across the Solway, they built milefortlets and watchtowers all the way down the shore. Number 21 stood at Swarthy Hill, on a low rise by the sea north of Maryport, and excavations here showed a small rectangular fortlet with timber buildings inside and a ditch around.
Read the complete Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21 sits at 67 km, about halfway. Next is back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12b.
6. back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12b
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Silloth Golf Course tower 12b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12b comes up about 93 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Brownrigg North tower 21b.
7. 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
about 109 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Brownrigg North tower 21b. Next is back through Wolsty North tower 13a.
8. back through Wolsty North tower 13a
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wolsty North tower 13a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Wolsty North tower 13a, late in the day. Next is Herd Hill North.
9. Herd Hill North
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Herd Hill North 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 153 km.
Leg by leg
Herd Hill North to Wolsty North tower 13a
Herd Hill North → Wolsty North tower 13a is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wolsty North tower 13a to Brownrigg North tower 21b
Wolsty North tower 13a → Brownrigg North tower 21b is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Brownrigg North tower 21b to Silloth Golf Course tower 12b
Brownrigg North tower 21b → Silloth Golf Course tower 12b is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Silloth Golf Course tower 12b to Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21
Silloth Golf Course tower 12b → Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21 is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21 to back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12b
Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21 → back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12b is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12b to back through Brownrigg North tower 21b
back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12b → back through Brownrigg North tower 21b is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Brownrigg North tower 21b to back through Wolsty North tower 13a
back through Brownrigg North tower 21b → back through Wolsty North tower 13a is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wolsty North tower 13a to Herd Hill North
back through Wolsty North tower 13a → Herd Hill North is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.