Why this ride
A 60 km round trip from Haltwhistle - roughly 1 h 06 in the saddle. The stops in between: Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel, Watchclose Roman temporary camp and back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s and Watchclose Roman temporary camp
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 60 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 06
- 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. Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s
Long before the wall existed, the Romans ran a road across the narrow neck of northern England, the Stanegate, linking the forts of Corbridge on the Tyne and Carlisle on the Eden. It was built around AD 80, in the time of the general Agricola, and it served as the frontier line for a generation before Hadrian ordered the wall to be built a little to the north. Forts and fortlets sat along it, among them Vindolanda and the small post at Haltwhistle Burn, and temporary camps like the one at Milestone House show where troops stopped on the move.
Read the complete Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.
2. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
West of Birdoswald the Wall changes character. The central crags fall behind, the River Irthing loops through its gorge below, and the frontier runs across gentler farmland towards Banks and Hare Hill, where one of the tallest surviving fragments of the Wall still stands, patched by later hands. Here too the vallum, the great earthwork south of the Wall, can be traced across the fields, and the remains of turrets at Banks East and Pike Hill sit right beside the road. It is a quieter stretch than the famous sections further east, and all the better for it.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel comes up about 14 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchclose Roman temporary camp.
3. Watchclose Roman temporary camp
East of Carlisle, between the villages of Brampton and Wetheral, the countryside rolls gently towards the Pennines, with green fields, hedges and patches of woodland. Somewhere in these fields lie the faint traces of Watchclose, a Roman temporary camp, one of many marching camps built by soldiers on campaign or during the construction of Hadrian's Wall. These camps were enclosed by a ditch and bank and used for a night or a season, and today they are often visible only from the air or as slight undulations in the grass. Watchclose is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.
Read the complete Watchclose Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 31 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchclose Roman temporary camp. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.
4. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel, late in the day. Next is Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s.
5. Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to Watchclose Roman temporary camp
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → Watchclose Roman temporary camp is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchclose Roman temporary camp to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Watchclose Roman temporary camp → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → Milestone House Roman temporary camp and s is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.