Roman fort and watch tower and Parton Roman fort

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Roman fort and watch tower

   The Solway Firth is the border's wet edge, a wide estuary with some of the biggest tides in Britain, and the Romans built the western end of Hadrian's Wall right on its southern shore. Here, a few kilometres west of Carlisle, a fort and a watchtower stood in a low, open country of marsh and meadow, watching the crossing points across the water. The route passes Biglands House and the Stangate at Crosby Lodge, local names that mark an old road, and the landscape has the long, flat, windswept character that makes this corner of Cumbria feel remote even close to a city.

   Read the complete Roman fort and watch tower write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Roman fort and watch tower is where the day begins. Next is The vallum and a British settlement betwee.

2. 2. The vallum and a British settlement betwee

   There is a stretch of Hadrian's Wall that everybody has seen in photographs: the Wall riding the crest of the Whin Sill like a stone ribbon, plunging into dips and climbing again, with a long, dark lake, Crag Lough, beneath the cliffs. This is it, near Steel Rigg and Once Brewed, and the site on the label, the vallum and the remains of a native British settlement, lies just to the south in the shadow of the crags. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site, and it is a reminder that people lived here long before the Romans and kept living here while the soldiers watched over them.

   Read the complete The vallum and a British settlement betwee write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   The vallum and a British settlement betwee comes up about 51 km into the recorded legs. Next is Parton Roman fort.

3. 3. 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

   about 161 km into the recorded legs you reach Parton Roman fort. Next is back through The vallum and a British settlement betwee.

4. 4. back through The vallum and a British settlement betwee

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete The vallum and a British settlement betwee write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through The vallum and a British settlement betwee, late in the day. Next is Roman fort and watch tower.

5. 5. Roman fort and watch tower

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Roman fort and watch tower write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Roman fort and watch tower. That is the ride.