Why this ride
124 km from South Shields to South Shields, about 2 h 09 of riding. It goes by way of Roman fort, Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H, Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra and Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Roman fort and Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 124 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 09
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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. Roman fort
At the mouth of the Tyne, on a rise above the river, stands a reconstructed Roman gateway that looks surprisingly new. It belongs to Arbeia, the Roman fort at South Shields, which supplied the soldiers along Hadrian's Wall and was built, strategically, to guard the entrance to the river. Ships unloaded grain and other goods here, and the stores were carried along the Wall's line, so this was the logistical heart of the frontier. Reconstructed buildings, including the gatehouse, a barrack and a commander's house, show how it looked, and the museum holds finds from the site.
Read the complete Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Roman fort is where the day begins. Next is Roman fort.
2. Roman fort
Newcastle got its name from a castle built in 1080 by Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror, but the hilltop he chose above the Tyne had already been used for centuries. Beneath the Castle Keep and the Black Gate lie the remains of Pons Aelius, a small Roman fort that guarded a bridge across the river near the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. The name honoured Hadrian himself, whose family name was Aelius. Outlines of the fort are marked in the paving around the keep, and the Swing Bridge below crosses the river close to where the Roman bridge stood.
Read the complete Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Roman fort comes up 17 km in. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H.
3. Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H
Heddon-on-the-Wall announces its pedigree in its name, and just east of the village, on the slope down towards Newcastle, you find the longest surviving stretch of the Wall in the eastern sector. It is a section of broad wall, built to the original specification of about ten Roman feet thick, before the builders further west were told to save time and stone by making it narrower. Standing beside it, with fields falling away towards the Tyne, you get a strong sense of the scale of the project: this curtain once ran unbroken for eighty Roman miles.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
33 km in you reach Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra.
4. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra
Just east of the point where the A68 crosses the line of Hadrian's Wall, at Portgate, the Romans had a gateway through the frontier for Dere Street, the great road running north from York into Scotland. Today the A68 follows much the same course, and the wall and its vallum run east and west across the fields here, sometimes visible as a bank or a ditch, sometimes buried under the Military Road. A little to the east, the fort of Halton Chesters, known to the Romans as Onnum, lies under the fields, and like the rest of the frontier, this stretch is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra, about halfway. Next is Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp.
5. Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp
Roman armies on campaign dug in every night. Wherever they halted, soldiers threw up a rectangular earth rampart and ditch around their tents, and on Walwick Fell, a short way west of the North Tyne, the faint outline of one of those temporary camps survives in the rough pasture. You need a keen eye and low sunlight to make it out, but its presence is a reminder that the Wall was built, maintained and defended by thousands of men who lived and worked in these hills, sometimes under canvas, sometimes in stone forts.
Read the complete Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp sits at 67 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra.
6. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra comes up 83 km in. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H.
7. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
100 km in you reach back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H. Next is back through Roman fort.
8. back through Roman fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete 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 Roman fort, late in the day.
9. Roman fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete 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 124 km.
Leg by leg
Roman fort to Roman fort
Roman fort → Roman fort is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roman fort to Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H
Roman fort → Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra
Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra to Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra → Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra
Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Sunnybra → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H to back through Roman fort
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum from East Town H → back through Roman fort is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Roman fort to Roman fort
back through Roman fort → Roman fort is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.