Rudchester Roman fort and Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Rudchester Roman fort

   Rudchester, known to the Romans as Vindobala, was the fourth fort along Hadrian's Wall counting from Wallsend at the eastern end. It sat astride the Wall on high ground west of Newcastle, with a garrison of around five hundred soldiers. Today, there is nothing to see above ground but fields and the bumps and hollows of buried walls, with a farm nearby. Excavations in the twentieth century found traces of a temple to Mithras just outside the fort, one of several on the Wall, where soldiers worshipped the god in a dark, cave-like building.

   Read the complete Rudchester Roman fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Rudchester Roman fort is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc.

2. 2. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc

   East of the crags the Wall country softens into the Tyne valley, a green landscape of meadows and woods, and near Corbridge you meet something the Wall itself never had: a town. Corbridge Roman Town, known to the Romans as Coria, grew up at the crossing of the River Tyne and the great north road, Dere Street, and served as a supply base for the army and a market for the civilians who followed it. The granaries and fountain survive, and a museum holds finds such as the famous Corbridge Lion, a sculpture of a lion devouring a stag. The label puts us on a stretch of Wall and vallum near Herd Hill, a few kilometres north-east.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc 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 the Fenc comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &.

3. 3. Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &

   Of all the Roman sites along Hadrian's Wall, Carrawburgh may be the most mysterious. The fort itself, called Brocolitia, is largely unexcavated, a grassy platform beside the Military Road, but just below it, in a boggy hollow, stands the reconstructed outline of a small temple of Mithras, the soldiers' god, whose cult was popular among the Roman army. The temple was excavated in 1949, and its three altars, now replaced by replicas, the originals being in the Great North Museum in Newcastle, were dedicated by commanders of the garrison. Nearby, a spring dedicated to the water goddess Coventina yielded an astonishing hoard of coins, altars and offerings when it was excavated in the nineteenth century, around thirteen thousand coins in all.

   Read the complete Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 34 km into the recorded legs you reach Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc.

4. 4. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the Fenc 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 the Fenc, late in the day. Next is Rudchester Roman fort.

5. 5. Rudchester Roman fort

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Rudchester Roman fort write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Rudchester Roman fort. That is the ride.