Why this ride
72 km from Silloth to Silloth, about 1 h 16 of riding. It goes by way of Kirkbride Roman fort, Hadrian's Wall between the field boundary and back through Kirkbride Roman fort.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Palisade ditches and Hadrian's Wall between the field boundary
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 72 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 16
- 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. Palisade ditches
Hadrian's Wall did not simply stop at the edge of the Solway. Beyond its western end at Bowness, the Romans continued the frontier down the Cumbrian coast with a chain of milefortlets and towers, and in places with ditches and palisades, to watch over the shoreline and guard against raids across the firth from what is now south west Scotland. The palisade ditches near Silloth are part of that coastal system, faint traces in the flat land behind the dunes, and they are a reminder that the Roman frontier was a complex network that stretched far beyond the famous stone wall.
Read the complete Palisade ditches write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Palisade ditches is where the day begins. Next is Kirkbride Roman fort.
2. Kirkbride Roman fort
The tide turns the Solway Firth into an enormous, shifting plain of sand and water, and the Roman fort at Kirkbride stood at the edge of it. Here, at the western limit of the frontier in the lower Eden valley, the Romans built a fort to guard the crossing of the estuary, and the earthworks show a rectangular platform in a field by the village. The fort belonged to the Wall system, which continued along the coast, and the first thing a visitor realises is how big the view is. On a clear day you can see the Scottish hills across the water, and the ridges of Criffel and Burnswark, and the line of the shore bending away to the west.
Read the complete Kirkbride Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kirkbride Roman fort comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall between the field boundary.
3. Hadrian's Wall between the field boundary
Just outside Carlisle, among hedges and grazing fields, a short protected length of ground marks where Hadrian's Wall once ran between two farm boundaries. That is all the official name means, and the honest truth is that there is very little to see: a gentle bank, perhaps a slight ditch, the alignment of a hedge that follows the Roman line because nobody ever bothered to move it. What makes it worth a pause is the bigger picture. The wall here was heading for the crossing of the River Eden, where it met the fort of Stanwix on the north bank, the biggest fort on the entire frontier, home to an elite cavalry regiment a thousand strong.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall between the field boundary write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 36 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall between the field boundary. Next is back through Kirkbride Roman fort.
4. back through Kirkbride Roman fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Kirkbride Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Kirkbride Roman fort, late in the day. Next is Palisade ditches.
5. Palisade ditches
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Palisade ditches write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Palisade ditches. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Palisade ditches to Kirkbride Roman fort
Palisade ditches → Kirkbride Roman fort is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Kirkbride Roman fort to Hadrian's Wall between the field boundary
Kirkbride Roman fort → Hadrian's Wall between the field boundary is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall between the field boundary to back through Kirkbride Roman fort
Hadrian's Wall between the field boundary → back through Kirkbride Roman fort is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Kirkbride Roman fort to Palisade ditches
back through Kirkbride Roman fort → Palisade ditches is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.