Why this ride
From Greenhead it runs 364 km to Greenhead; allow about 5 h 24 of riding. The stops in between: The vallum between Oatens Bank, The English Lake District and back through The vallum between Oatens Bank. Lakes are the scenery here.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Roman signal station on Mains Rigg and The English Lake District
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 364 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 24
- 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. Roman signal station on Mains Rigg
On a low ridge south of the Wall, near the village of Low Row, the foundations of a Roman stone tower sit in a field with a commanding view up and down the Irthing valley. The signal station on Mains Rigg belonged to the system of the Stanegate, the road that ran from Corbridge to Carlisle before the Wall was built, and it allowed messages to be passed between forts by fire, smoke or flags. From here, on a clear day, you can see for miles: west to Carlisle, east toward the Pennines and north over the Wall.
Read the complete Roman signal station on Mains Rigg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Roman signal station on Mains Rigg is where the day begins. Next is The vallum between Oatens Bank.
2. The vallum between Oatens Bank
Look south of the road near Oatens Bank, just west of Heddon on the Wall, and you will see it: a broad, flat-bottomed ditch running across the fields, with a low mound on either side. That is the vallum, and it is one of the strangest and most debated elements of Hadrian's Wall. It runs parallel to the wall, a short distance to the south, along most of its length, and it seems to have marked the rear edge of the military zone, controlling access from the south rather than defending against attack from the north. Crossings were limited to causeways opposite the forts, which suggests a kind of customs line.
Read the complete The vallum between Oatens Bank write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The vallum between Oatens Bank comes up about 50 km into the recorded legs. Next is The English Lake District.
3. The English Lake District
Wordsworth wandered lonely as a cloud round here, and anybody who has ridden the Lake District on a wet bank holiday will understand the appeal of being lonely. The English Lake District, listed by UNESCO in 2017 as a cultural landscape, is a compact knot of mountains, lakes and valleys in Cumbria, shaped by glaciers and then by centuries of sheep farming, slate quarrying and, from the late eighteenth century, by poets, painters and tourists who came looking for the sublime.
Read the complete The English Lake District write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 182 km into the recorded legs you reach The English Lake District. Next is back through The vallum between Oatens Bank.
4. back through The vallum between Oatens Bank
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The vallum between Oatens Bank 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 between Oatens Bank, late in the day. Next is Roman signal station on Mains Rigg.
5. Roman signal station on Mains Rigg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Roman signal station on Mains Rigg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Roman signal station on Mains Rigg. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Roman signal station on Mains Rigg to The vallum between Oatens Bank
Roman signal station on Mains Rigg → The vallum between Oatens Bank is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
The vallum between Oatens Bank to The English Lake District
The vallum between Oatens Bank → The English Lake District is 132 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
The English Lake District to back through The vallum between Oatens Bank
The English Lake District → back through The vallum between Oatens Bank is 131 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through The vallum between Oatens Bank to Roman signal station on Mains Rigg
back through The vallum between Oatens Bank → Roman signal station on Mains Rigg is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.