Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags and Boothby Roman fort

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags

   The Wall needed millions of dressed stones, and the Romans quarried them close to where they were needed. On Queen's Crags, a ridge of sandstone north of the Wall near Housesteads, they left a calling card: an inscription cut into the rock face, one of several known Roman quarry inscriptions along the frontier, recording a soldier or unit at work. It is a small, weathered thing, hard to find without directions, but it is a direct link to the men who cut the stone for the Wall.

   Read the complete Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall between Walltown Quarry Eas.

2. 2. Hadrian's Wall between Walltown Quarry Eas

   Of all the places where Hadrian's Wall still behaves like a wall, Walltown is one of the most dramatic. The masonry rides the crest of the Great Whin Sill, a sheet of hard dark dolerite that pushed up through the surrounding rock about three hundred million years ago and then weathered into a line of cliffs facing north. The Roman engineers simply put their wall on top of the cliff, so the stones rise and fall with the crags, dipping into gaps the locals call nicks and climbing out again. Stand up there on a windy day and look north towards the empty country of Northumberland and you understand exactly why they chose the line.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall between Walltown Quarry Eas write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Hadrian's Wall between Walltown Quarry Eas comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Boothby Roman fort.

3. 3. Boothby Roman fort

   Brampton is a small red-sandstone market town on the edge of the northern Pennines, and just outside it, on the line of the old Stanegate road, lay Boothby, one of the Roman forts that guarded the frontier before Hadrian's Wall was built. There is nothing much to see on the ground now, only a field and a slight rise, but the location is a good jumping-off point for some of the best riding and the best Wall sites in Cumbria.

   Read the complete Boothby Roman fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 31 km into the recorded legs you reach Boothby Roman fort. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall between Walltown Quarry Eas.

4. 4. back through Hadrian's Wall between Walltown Quarry Eas

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall between Walltown Quarry Eas 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 between Walltown Quarry Eas, late in the day. Next is Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags.

5. 5. Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Roman quarry inscription on Queen's Crags. That is the ride.