Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 and Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
210 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.
From Echzell it runs 210 km to Echzell; allow about 2 h 39 of riding. The stops in between: Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37, Fortlet Lochmühle, Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP and back through Fortlet Lochmühle. The line favours views over speed.
Scenic road chapters
Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37 → Fortlet Lochmühle
This part of the ride is 27 km of Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37 → Fortlet Lochmühle.
Chapter facts
Length
27 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82
Between two neighbouring watchtowers the Romans left a short piece of frontier that today looks like almost nothing, and that is part of its charm. The line between Wachtposten 4/81 and 4/82 runs through the fields of the Wetterau east of Frankfurt, close to Echzell, where the earth wall and ditch of the Limes can still be traced as a long, low swelling in the farmland, sometimes crowned by a hedge or a row of trees that have grown on it. Beneath the field, archaeologists have found postholes of the palisade, which stood about three metres high and was made of split oak trunks.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 is where the day begins. Next is Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37.
2. Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37
Between the hills of the Taunus and the soft farmland of the Wetterau, the Roman frontier ran in a long, mostly straight line for most of the second and third centuries. This is Hesse, and the numbering that gives the place its odd label, watchtowers 4/36 and 4/37, refers to the standard system archaeologists use to count the Limes watchposts section by section. The point lies near Butzbach, a town of twenty-five thousand people where the frontier crossed the Wetterau and the local fort once held a cavalry unit. The section in question consists of the earth traces, a low bank and a ditch, that the Romans built in front of their wooden palisade, with towers spaced at regular intervals behind.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37 comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fortlet Lochmühle.
3. Fortlet Lochmühle
The Lochmühle is a small fortlet on the Limes in the Taunus, near Wehrheim and the famous Saalburg, and it guarded a spot where the frontier crossed the valley of the Erlenbach stream. Fortlets like this were small outposts, housing a handful of soldiers who watched the border and controlled traffic, and they formed a link between the watchtowers and the larger forts. Its remains are modest, but the location, in a quiet valley surrounded by forest, has a peaceful charm. The name comes from a nearby mill, now a popular leisure park for families with play areas and farm animals.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 63 km into the recorded legs you reach Fortlet Lochmühle. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP.
4. Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
On the western side of the Taunus, the hills are lower and the forest gives way more often to farmland, with villages in the folds of the valleys. Idstein, a small town with a remarkable old centre, sits on this side, with Waldems and Glashütten nearby. Through the woods above them ran the Roman frontier, and the stretch of watchtowers numbered WP 3/24 to 3/40 followed the ridges here, part of the Upper Germanic Limes and of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire site.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 to Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37
Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 → Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37 is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37 to Fortlet Lochmühle
Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37 → Fortlet Lochmühle is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlet Lochmühle to Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
Fortlet Lochmühle → Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP to back through Fortlet Lochmühle
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → back through Fortlet Lochmühle is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fortlet Lochmühle to back through Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37
back through Fortlet Lochmühle → back through Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37 is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37 to Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82
back through Limessection between WP 4/36 and 4/37 → Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.