Why this ride
91 km from Maryport to Maryport, about 1 h 22 of riding. It goes by way of Wolsty South tower 13b, Herd Hill and back through Wolsty South tower 13b.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Maryport Golf Course tower 22a and Herd Hill
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 91 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 22
- 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. Maryport Golf Course tower 22a
Hadrian's Wall gets the fame, but the Romans kept watching long after it ended at Bowness. The coast of Cumberland, from the Solway to St Bees, was fitted with a line of forts, fortlets and watchtowers, each numbered in sequence, and Tower 22a is one of them. It stands on the cliff above Maryport, in a place that the golf course has swallowed, and what you will find is a modest earthwork or a marker rather than a standing tower. The Romans built Alauna, a fort at Maryport, on the high ground above the harbour, and the finds from it, a collection of seventeen carved altars buried in a pit, are displayed in the Senhouse Roman Museum in a former naval battery overlooking the sea.
Read the complete Maryport Golf Course tower 22a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Maryport Golf Course tower 22a is where the day begins. Next is Wolsty South tower 13b.
2. Wolsty South tower 13b
Hadrian's Wall gets the fame, but the Roman frontier did not simply stop at Bowness-on-Solway. Beyond the end of the wall, a chain of milefortlets and towers continued down the Cumbrian coast, watching the Solway Firth for raiders from the north. Wolsty South, tower 13b, was one of them, a small stone watchtower near Silloth on the low, windy coast. There is little to see today, often just a mark in the ground, but the site is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire listed by UNESCO, and its position tells a story: from here, Roman soldiers looked across the water to the hills of Scotland.
Read the complete Wolsty South tower 13b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Wolsty South tower 13b comes up about 13 km into the recorded legs. Next is Herd Hill.
3. Herd Hill
Herd Hill is a modest rise in the flat country near Annan, the sort of landmark that appears on a map without much fanfare. What matters is where it lies: on the Scottish shore of the Solway, in Annandale, a broad farming valley that runs up to the Southern Uplands. Annan sits on its river, once a port with tobacco and timber trade, and has a long history as a border town where English and Scottish armies fought over a place that changed hands many times.
Read the complete Herd Hill write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 47 km into the recorded legs you reach Herd Hill. Next is back through Wolsty South tower 13b.
4. back through Wolsty South tower 13b
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Wolsty South tower 13b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Wolsty South tower 13b, late in the day. Next is Maryport Golf Course tower 22a.
5. Maryport Golf Course tower 22a
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Maryport Golf Course tower 22a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Maryport Golf Course tower 22a. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Maryport Golf Course tower 22a to Wolsty South tower 13b
Maryport Golf Course tower 22a → Wolsty South tower 13b is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Wolsty South tower 13b to Herd Hill
Wolsty South tower 13b → Herd Hill is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Herd Hill to back through Wolsty South tower 13b
Herd Hill → back through Wolsty South tower 13b is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Wolsty South tower 13b to Maryport Golf Course tower 22a
back through Wolsty South tower 13b → Maryport Golf Course tower 22a is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.