Moss Side 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps and Corbridge
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
137 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 12
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Carlisle it runs 137 km to Carlisle; allow about 2 h 12 of riding. It goes by way of Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ, Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet, Corbridge and back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Moss Side 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps
Don't expect walls. The two Roman temporary camps at Moss Side are the sort of monument you mostly have to imagine: a pair of rectangles traced in the fields east of Carlisle, known from cropmarks and low earthworks rather than anything that rises above the grass. What you are looking at is a farmed slope of the lower Eden country, hedges and pasture, with Scotby and Wetheral a few kilometres off and the city of Carlisle seven kilometres to the west. The point of stopping is to stand where a Roman army once dug in for the night and to let the landscape do the explaining.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Moss Side 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ.
2. Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ
Gilsland is a village with a split personality. The boundary between Northumberland and Cumbria runs right through it, along the Poltross Burn, so the houses on one side are in one county and those on the other in another. Hadrian's Wall runs through it too, and the stretch of Wall, vallum and associated features around the village is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. The Wall here crosses the narrow gorge of the burn and the railway line, with a milecastle right next to the old station.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet.
3. Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet
This is the stretch of Hadrian's Wall that everyone pictures: the stone curtain running along the crest of the Whin Sill, a hard dolerite ridge that ends in sheer north-facing crags, with lakes like Crag Lough and Greenlee Lough glinting below. Housesteads fort is close by, clinging to the hillside with its barracks, granaries and famous communal latrines, and the Wall dips and climbs over each crag in a way that seems almost reckless as engineering. The Sycamore Gap tree, which stood in a dip in the ridge for generations, was felled in an act of vandalism in 2023, and the loss is still felt locally.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 44 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet. Next is Corbridge.
4. Corbridge
Two thousand years ago, Dere Street, the Roman road heading north into Scotland, crossed the Tyne here, and a town grew up around a supply base just behind Hadrian's Wall. Coria, now called Corbridge Roman Town, was a bustling place with granaries, temples, workshops and a main street, and its remains, managed by English Heritage, are among the most important Roman sites in Britain. The museum displays finds including the Corbridge Hoard, a chest of armour and equipment, and the Corbridge Lion, a sculpture of a lion attacking a stag.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Moss Side 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps closes the day.
Leg by leg
Moss Side 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps to Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ
Moss Side 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps → Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ to Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet
Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ → Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet to Corbridge
Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet → Corbridge is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Corbridge to back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet
Corbridge → back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ
back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ to Moss Side 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum and their associ → Moss Side 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.