Parton Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End

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 Sea Brows.

2. 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 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Skinburness.

3. 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 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Skinburness. Next is Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End.

4. 4. Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End

   Out on the Solway plain the land flattens, the sky gets enormous, and the sea is never far off even when you cannot see it. The stretch of the vallum near West End lies between Carlisle and the village of Burgh by Sands, on the last run of Hadrian's Wall towards its western end at Bowness-on-Solway. Here the Roman frontier ran along the edge of the marshes and the estuary, where the tide sweeps in across vast sands and salt marsh. Nothing of the Wall stands above ground in this section, but the line is clear on the map, and the country around has a strange, quiet beauty.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End, about halfway. Next is back through Skinburness.

5. 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 103 km, about halfway. Next is back through Sea Brows.

6. 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 136 km into the recorded legs. Next is Parton Roman fort.

7. 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.