Parton Roman fort and Beckfoot Roman fort

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Rise How tower 25a.

2. 2. Rise How tower 25a

   Hadrian's Wall does not simply stop at the Solway. Beyond Bowness, the Romans extended their frontier down the Cumbrian coast with a chain of milefortlets and towers, watching the shore against raiders crossing from what is now south-west Scotland. Rise How tower 25a is one of them, on the low cliffs just south of Maryport near Flimby, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. Little is visible above ground, but standing here and looking out over the water, you can see why they bothered.

   Read the complete Rise How tower 25a write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Rise How tower 25a comes up 19 km in. Next is Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b.

3. 3. Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b

   When people talk about Hadrian's Wall they usually mean the stone barrier across the neck of England, but the system continued down the Cumbrian coast for dozens of kilometres, as a chain of small forts, called milefortlets, and watchtowers facing the Irish Sea. Tower 16b, at Mawbray, was one of those lookouts, standing on the low, windswept coast between Silloth and Maryport. The Romans feared raids by sea, and a line of towers gave warning along the coast, with signals passing from one to the next.

   Read the complete Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   37 km in you reach Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b. Next is Cardurnock milefortlet.

4. 4. Cardurnock milefortlet

   The Cardurnock peninsula pokes out into the upper Solway Firth like a thumb, a flat, wind-scoured finger of farmland and salt marsh west of Bowness-on-Solway, with the tide sweeping in and out over the sands on three sides. Beyond the end of Hadrian's Wall, the Romans continued their defences down the coast with a chain of small forts and towers, and Cardurnock milefortlet was one of them, a small walled post with a handful of men keeping an eye on the fords and the open water. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site, though nothing much is visible now beyond the lie of the land.

   Read the complete Cardurnock milefortlet write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Cardurnock milefortlet, about halfway. Next is Beckfoot Roman fort.

5. 5. Beckfoot Roman fort

   Most people think Hadrian's Wall ended at Bowness-on-Solway, and in stone it did. But the Romans did not trust the shallow Solway Firth to keep raiders out, so they carried their defences on down the Cumbrian coast for many miles: a chain of small milefortlets and watchtowers, with proper forts at intervals, all the way to Maryport and beyond. Beckfoot is one of those forts, on a low bluff a few kilometres south of Silloth, looking straight across the water to Scotland. Above ground there is almost nothing, just a field with faint outlines, but aerial photos and excavations have shown the fort, its civilian settlement and its cemetery, and coastal erosion keeps nibbling at the remains.

   Read the complete Beckfoot Roman fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Beckfoot Roman fort sits at 74 km, about halfway. Next is back through Cardurnock milefortlet.

6. 6. back through Cardurnock milefortlet

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Cardurnock milefortlet write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Cardurnock milefortlet comes up 93 km in. Next is back through Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b.

7. 7. back through Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   111 km in you reach back through Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b. Next is back through Rise How tower 25a.

8. 8. back through Rise How tower 25a

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Rise How tower 25a write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Rise How tower 25a, late in the day. Next is Parton Roman fort.

9. 9. Parton Roman fort

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   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

   The route ends here after 195 km.