Rudchester Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
169 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 39
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.
A 169 km round trip from Prudhoe - roughly 2 h 39 in the saddle. On the way it passes Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &, Roman signal station on Mains Rigg, Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav and back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg. The line favours views over speed.
Scenic road chapters
Rudchester Roman fort → Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 35 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
Length
28 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
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.
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 Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &.
2. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Roman signal station on Mains Rigg.
3. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 54 km into the recorded legs you reach Roman signal station on Mains Rigg. Next is Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav.
4. Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav
Carlisle was the western hub of Hadrian's Wall, and on its northern edge, at Stanwix, stood the largest fort on the whole frontier. Known to the Romans as Uxelodunum, it held a cavalry regiment about a thousand strong, and its commander was one of the most important officers on the wall. Little of it is visible now, since the fort lies under the streets and gardens of a suburb, but the line of the wall can be traced through the town, in parts of the pavement and the shape of the streets, and a short surviving section lies in a quiet corner near the river Eden.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Rudchester Roman fort closes the day.
Leg by leg
Rudchester Roman fort to Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &
Rudchester Roman fort → Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & to Roman signal station on Mains Rigg
Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & → Roman signal station on Mains Rigg is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roman signal station on Mains Rigg to Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav
Roman signal station on Mains Rigg → Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav to back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg
Hadrian's Wall between the east end of Dav → back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg to back through Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall &
back through Roman signal station on Mains Rigg → back through Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & to Rudchester Roman fort
back through Carrawburgh Roman fort & Hadrian's Wall & → Rudchester Roman fort is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.