CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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 Wigton it runs 136 km to Wigton; allow about 2 h 17 of riding. It goes by way of Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T, Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar, Stone circle and back through Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
The tide turns the Solway Firth into an enormous, shifting plain of sand and water, and the Roman fort at Kirkbride stood at the edge of it. Here, at the western limit of the frontier in the lower Eden valley, the Romans built a fort to guard the crossing of the estuary, and the earthworks show a rectangular platform in a field by the village. The fort belonged to the Wall system, which continued along the coast, and the first thing a visitor realises is how big the view is. On a clear day you can see the Scottish hills across the water, and the ridges of Criffel and Burnswark, and the line of the shore bending away to the west.
Read the complete Kirkbride Roman fort write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Kirkbride Roman fort is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T.
Where does the Wall go when it reaches a city? In Carlisle, it takes a quiet route under the pavement. The Roman fort of Luguvalium stood here, on the south bank of the River Eden, to guard a crossing, and the line of the frontier ran north of the town, through what is now the suburb of Stanwix. Along the road between Houghton Road and the river, you are following a stretch where the Wall once stood, though you would need a map and a good imagination to see it. A small plaque, a piece of ditch or a slightly raised bank is all that remains.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar.
Building Hadrian's Wall took an enormous amount of stone, and the Romans quarried it wherever they could find good sandstone near the line. In the woods and crags around Banks and Lanercost, east of Brampton, several of these quarries survive, and on the rock faces the soldiers who worked them left their marks: names, unit symbols and short inscriptions carved into the stone nearly two thousand years ago. Coombe Crag, near the Wall here, is one of the best known, with names scratched by men who were probably bored, tired and far from home. Finding them takes a bit of searching and some imagination, as the letters are worn and lichen-covered, but there is something deeply human about them.
Read the complete Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar. Next is Stone circle.
Long before the Romans built their wall across northern England, people were raising stones on these moors. Close to the line of Hadrian's Wall, in the hills north of Haydon Bridge and Haltwhistle, a small prehistoric stone circle stands in the rough grass, a few weathered boulders arranged in a ring, probably dating from the Bronze Age. Its exact purpose is unknown, but circles like this were often used for ceremonies or burials, and many have legends attached to them.
Read the complete Stone circle write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Stone circle, about halfway. Next is back through Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar sits at 101 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T comes up about 111 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kirkbride Roman fort.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kirkbride Roman fort write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Kirkbride Roman fort closes the day.
Kirkbride Roman fort → Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T → Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar → Stone circle is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Stone circle → back through Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Eight Roman inscriptions in the Roman quar → back through Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall between Houghton Road and T → Kirkbride Roman fort is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.