Why this ride
A 134 km round trip from Whitehaven - roughly 2 h 37 in the saddle. It goes by way of Sea Brows, Skinburness, Brownrigg North tower 21b and back through Skinburness.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Parton Roman fort and Brownrigg North tower 21b
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 134 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 37
- 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. 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 Sea Brows.
2. Sea Brows
Maryport is a small harbour town on the Cumbrian coast, built in the eighteenth century by the Senhouse family, who named it after Mary, the wife of Humphrey Senhouse. Long before that it was a Roman fort called Alauna, part of the coastal defences that continued south along the shore from the end of Hadrian's Wall. The Senhouse Roman Museum, set in a former Victorian naval battery on the cliffs, has a remarkable collection of altars found nearby, many of them dedicated by the commanders of the cohorts stationed here.
Read the complete Sea Brows write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sea Brows comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Skinburness.
3. Skinburness
Skinburness is a scatter of houses at the tip of a shingle spit on the Solway coast of Cumbria, just north of Silloth, looking across the wide, shimmering estuary to the hills of Scotland. When the tide goes out, the Solway empties into vast expanses of sand and mud, with channels winding through them, and the light changes constantly as clouds race overhead. On clear evenings, the sunsets over the Scottish hills, with the dark bulk of Criffel opposite, are spectacular.
Read the complete Skinburness write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 45 km into the recorded legs you reach Skinburness. Next is Brownrigg North tower 21b.
4. Brownrigg North tower 21b
Most people think Hadrian's Wall stops at the Solway, but the Roman frontier did not simply end at the water's edge. Beyond Bowness a chain of milefortlets and towers ran on down the Cumbrian coast, watching the sea and the hills of Scotland across the firth, and Brownrigg North, tower 21b in the archaeologists' numbering, was one of them. There is little to see on the ground now, often just a gentle swelling in a field, but stand here and look west and you understand why it was put there: the Solway opens out, and on a clear day the Galloway hills and the Isle of Man line the horizon.
Read the complete Brownrigg North tower 21b write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Brownrigg North tower 21b, about halfway. Next is back through Skinburness.
5. back through Skinburness
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Skinburness write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Skinburness sits at 101 km, about halfway. Next is back through Sea Brows.
6. back through Sea Brows
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sea Brows write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Sea Brows comes up about 112 km into the recorded legs. Next is Parton Roman fort.
7. 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
Parton Roman fort closes the day.
Leg by leg
Parton Roman fort to Sea Brows
Parton Roman fort → Sea Brows is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Sea Brows to Skinburness
Sea Brows → Skinburness is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Skinburness to Brownrigg North tower 21b
Skinburness → Brownrigg North tower 21b is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Brownrigg North tower 21b to back through Skinburness
Brownrigg North tower 21b → back through Skinburness is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Skinburness to back through Sea Brows
back through Skinburness → back through Sea Brows is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Sea Brows to Parton Roman fort
back through Sea Brows → Parton Roman fort is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.