Maryport and Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Chesters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Maryport

   Maryport is a harbour town on the Cumbrian coast, a place of Georgian terraces, fishing boats and a long quay, with the Solway Firth and the hills of Galloway across the water. The town was laid out in the 1750s by Humphrey Senhouse, who named it for his wife Mary, and it grew on coal, shipbuilding and trade. Thomas Ismay, the founder of the White Star Line that later built the Titanic, was born here in 1837, and Fletcher Christian of the Bounty came from nearby Cockermouth. The harbour has been restored, with a maritime museum, a row of old boats, and a pleasant waterfront to walk.

   Read the complete Maryport write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Maryport is where the day begins. Next is The Stangate at Crosby Lodge.

2. 2. The Stangate at Crosby Lodge

   Before there was a Wall, there was a road. The Stanegate, a Roman route running east to west between the Tyne at Corbridge and the Eden at Carlisle, was the first frontier line in northern Britain, guarded by a string of forts decades before Hadrian ordered his great barrier built a little to the north. Near Crosby-on-Eden, a few miles east of Carlisle, the line of the old road passes through gentle farmland on the north bank of the Eden, and while there is little to see of the road itself, the landscape tells the story of how the Romans picked their way across this narrow neck of the country.

   Read the complete The Stangate at Crosby Lodge write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The Stangate at Crosby Lodge comes up about 56 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Chesters.

3. 3. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Chesters

   The North Tyne comes down from the Kielder hills and the empty moorland of the border, and at Chollerford it passes beneath an old stone bridge on its way to meet the South Tyne near Hexham. Just west of the bridge, the Wall strides away uphill from Chesters fort, and this stretch, with the Wall and the vallum running together across farmland and woods, is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Chesters write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 104 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Chesters. Next is back through The Stangate at Crosby Lodge.

4. 4. back through The Stangate at Crosby Lodge

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete The Stangate at Crosby Lodge write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through The Stangate at Crosby Lodge, late in the day. Next is Maryport.

5. 5. Maryport

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Maryport write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Maryport. That is the ride.