Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp and Pasture House

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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. 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 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dubmill Point milefortlet 17.

3. 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 61 km into the recorded legs you reach Dubmill Point milefortlet 17. Next is Pasture House.

4. 4. Pasture House

   The Solway Firth is one of Britain's great tidal estuaries, wide, shallow and quick. At low water, a vast expanse of sand and mud opens, and when the tide returns, it advances across the flats with astonishing speed. Pasture House lies on the English shore, on the Cardurnock peninsula, with the Scottish town of Annan visible across the water about six kilometres to the north. The Romans extended Hadrian's Wall defences down this coast, and Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21, on a neighbouring ride, is one of a chain of small forts that guarded against crossings.

   Read the complete Pasture House write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Pasture House, about halfway. Next is back through Dubmill Point milefortlet 17.

5. 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 98 km, about halfway. Next is back through Pasture House turret 3a.

6. 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 178 km into the recorded legs. Next is Nowtler Hill 2 Roman temporary camp.

7. 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.