Why this ride
A 91 km round trip from Silloth - roughly 1 h 26 in the saddle. The stops in between: Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha, Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri and back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Skinburness and Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 91 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 26
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha → Beaumont motte castle and
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 17 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 20 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Skinburness
Skinburness is a scatter of houses at the tip of a shingle spit on the Solway coast of Cumbria, just north of Silloth, looking across the wide, shimmering estuary to the hills of Scotland. When the tide goes out, the Solway empties into vast expanses of sand and mud, with channels winding through them, and the light changes constantly as clouds race overhead. On clear evenings, the sunsets over the Scottish hills, with the dark bulk of Criffel opposite, are spectacular.
Read the complete Skinburness write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Skinburness is where the day begins. Next is Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha.
2. Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha
The Solway Firth is shallow and wide on its Scottish side, and between Annan and Gretna the land is flat and green, with sheep and cattle, field boundaries lined with hawthorn, and long views across the water to the Lake District hills.
Read the complete Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri.
3. Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri
Beaumont is one of those small places where history is stacked in layers, like books on a shelf. The little church of St Mary stands on a grassy mound that was once a Norman motte, a castle earthwork, and that mound in turn sits right on the line of Hadrian's Wall as it heads west from Carlisle towards the Solway. The builders of the motte used the Roman wall as a convenient quarry and foundation, and the church builders after them did the same. You will find no tall Roman masonry here, only the line itself, traced in field boundaries and the slight rise of the ground, and an awareness that you are standing on the edge of an empire.
Read the complete Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 46 km into the recorded legs you reach Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri. Next is back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha.
4. back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha, late in the day. Next is Skinburness.
5. Skinburness
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Skinburness write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Skinburness. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Skinburness to Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha
Skinburness → Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha to Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri
Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha → Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri to back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha
Beaumont motte castle and section of Hadri → back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha to Skinburness
back through Knockcross Roman temporary camp at Grey Ha → Skinburness is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.