Why this ride
183 km from Carlisle to Carlisle, about 2 h 54 of riding. The stops in between: Pasture House turret 3a, Dubmill Point milefortlet 17, Parton Roman fort and back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp and Parton Roman fort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 183 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 54
- 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. Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp
Not every Roman monument is made of stone. North of Carlisle, on low ground close to the Solway plain, the traces of a Roman temporary camp show up mainly as marks in the ground and in crops: a square or rectangle of ditch and bank, with rounded corners, where an army spent a night or two under leather tents. Nowtler Hill was one of those places. Marching armies built such camps every evening, digging the ditch and piling the earth into a rampart topped with stakes, so that even a short halt was protected.
Read the complete Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp is where the day begins. Next is Pasture House turret 3a.
2. Pasture House turret 3a
A turret on Hadrian's Wall was a small stone tower, about the size of a garden shed, built into the wall itself so that two soldiers could shelter and watch the country. Two turrets stood between each pair of milecastles, spaced about a third of a Roman mile apart, which means a signal could be passed along the wall in minutes by lamp, horn or flag. Turret 3a, near Pasture House on the Solway plain, is one of those tiny posts, and it is a good place to imagine the monotony of the job: a cold, damp night, a wide flat horizon, and the wind in the grass.
Read the complete Pasture House turret 3a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Pasture House turret 3a comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dubmill Point milefortlet 17.
3. Dubmill Point milefortlet 17
Dubmill Point is where the Solway coast road comes closest to the sea, and on stormy days with a high tide, waves break right over the B5300 and the road can be closed. The point is a low spit of shingle and grass between Allonby and Silloth, and here the Romans built milefortlet 17, part of the coastal defences that extended the frontier of Hadrian's Wall down the Cumbrian shore. A small garrison watched the firth for boats crossing from the north, and signals passed from post to post along the coast. Little remains today, but the site is exposed and evocative, with the sea on one side and the flat fields of the coastal plain on the other.
Read the complete Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Dubmill Point milefortlet 17. Next is Parton Roman fort.
4. Parton Roman fort
Hadrian's Wall stopped at Bowness-on-Solway, but the Roman frontier did not. Down the Cumbrian coast, the army built a chain of forts, milefortlets and towers to watch the sea and stop raiders slipping round the end of the Wall, and Parton, just north of Whitehaven, was one of them. The fort is known from excavations and records rather than standing remains, and the coastal defences as a whole are included in the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Standing on the cliffs above the sea, you can see why the Romans worried: across the water lie the Isle of Man and, on clear days, the hills of Scotland.
Read the complete Parton Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Parton Roman fort, about halfway. Next is back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17.
5. back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 sits at 113 km, about halfway. Next is back through Pasture House turret 3a.
6. back through Pasture House turret 3a
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Pasture House turret 3a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Pasture House turret 3a comes up about 159 km into the recorded legs. Next is Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp.
7. Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp closes the day.
Leg by leg
Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp to Pasture House turret 3a
Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp → Pasture House turret 3a is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Pasture House turret 3a to Dubmill Point milefortlet 17
Pasture House turret 3a → Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 to Parton Roman fort
Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 → Parton Roman fort is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Parton Roman fort to back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17
Parton Roman fort → back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 to back through Pasture House turret 3a
back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17 → back through Pasture House turret 3a is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Pasture House turret 3a to Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp
back through Pasture House turret 3a → Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.