Why this ride
257 km from Birtley to Birtley, about 4 h 20 of riding. On the way it passes Throp Roman fortlet, Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66, Skinburness and Burrow Walls Roman fort. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Limestone Corner Roman temporary camp and Burrow Walls Roman fort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 257 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 20
- 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. Limestone Corner Roman temporary camp
Limestone Corner is the most northerly point on Hadrian's Wall, and it is famous for a job left unfinished. The Romans dug a defensive ditch in front of the Wall along most of its length, but here they hit a band of hard whinstone, and after cutting some of the huge blocks free and splitting others with wedges, they simply gave up. The blocks still lie where they were left, some with the holes for the wedges visible, nearly nineteen centuries later. Nearby, the earthworks of a Roman temporary camp, where troops on the move once pitched their tents behind a ditch and bank, are part of the same Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.
Read the complete Limestone Corner Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Limestone Corner Roman temporary camp is where the day begins. Next is Throp Roman fortlet.
2. Throp Roman fortlet
Throp is a farm name on the edge of Gilsland, in the narrow gap where the River Irthing slips between the northern Pennines and the moors that roll north towards the Scottish border. A small Roman fortlet stood here, close to the Stanegate, the road that ran along the valley before the Wall was built, and it is one of the many features that make up the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. Not much remains to see, but the setting is classic Wall country.
Read the complete Throp Roman fortlet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Throp Roman fortlet comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66.
3. Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66
The western end of Hadrian's Wall runs right through Carlisle, and the stretch counted as wall mile 66 lies on the edge of the city, close to where the wall crossed the River Eden. The Roman town of Luguvalium grew up here, and the fort at Stanwix, across the river, housed a cavalry regiment and was the largest on the wall. Very little of the stone wall survives in the city, much of it having been robbed for buildings, but the line of the wall and vallum can be traced in places, and the Tullie House museum tells the story of Roman Carlisle with excellent displays.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66. Next is Skinburness.
4. Skinburness
Skinburness is a scatter of houses at the tip of a shingle spit on the Solway coast of Cumbria, just north of Silloth, looking across the wide, shimmering estuary to the hills of Scotland. When the tide goes out, the Solway empties into vast expanses of sand and mud, with channels winding through them, and the light changes constantly as clouds race overhead. On clear evenings, the sunsets over the Scottish hills, with the dark bulk of Criffel opposite, are spectacular.
Read the complete Skinburness write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Skinburness, about halfway. Next is Burrow Walls Roman fort.
5. Burrow Walls Roman fort
On the northern edge of Workington, near the mouth of the river Derwent, a fragment of stone wall stands alone in a field, a jagged piece of masonry rising above the grass. It is part of Burrow Walls, a Roman fort that guarded the Cumbrian coast, one of the chain of defences that extended from the western end of Hadrian's Wall down the shore to watch for raiders crossing from Scotland and Ireland. Much of the fort's stone was reused in a medieval building on the site, and what survives today is modest, but it is part of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage site and has a lonely charm, with views over the sea and the river.
Read the complete Burrow Walls Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Burrow Walls Roman fort sits at 143 km, about halfway. Next is back through Skinburness.
6. back through Skinburness
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Skinburness write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Skinburness comes up about 161 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66.
7. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 197 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66. Next is back through Throp Roman fortlet.
8. back through Throp Roman fortlet
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Throp Roman fortlet write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Throp Roman fortlet, late in the day. Next is Limestone Corner Roman temporary camp.
9. Limestone Corner Roman temporary camp
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Limestone Corner Roman temporary camp 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 257 km.
Leg by leg
Limestone Corner Roman temporary camp to Throp Roman fortlet
Limestone Corner Roman temporary camp → Throp Roman fortlet is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Throp Roman fortlet to Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66
Throp Roman fortlet → Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 to Skinburness
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 → Skinburness is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Skinburness to Burrow Walls Roman fort
Skinburness → Burrow Walls Roman fort is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Burrow Walls Roman fort to back through Skinburness
Burrow Walls Roman fort → back through Skinburness is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Skinburness to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66
back through Skinburness → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 to back through Throp Roman fortlet
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 → back through Throp Roman fortlet is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Throp Roman fortlet to Limestone Corner Roman temporary camp
back through Throp Roman fortlet → Limestone Corner Roman temporary camp is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.