Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21 and Campfield

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21

   Milefortlets are the small, easily overlooked members of the Roman frontier family. On Hadrian's Wall itself they stood every Roman mile, with a gate through the wall and a tiny garrison, and when the Romans extended the system along the Cumbrian coast, to guard against landings from across the Solway, they built milefortlets and watchtowers all the way down the shore. Number 21 stood at Swarthy Hill, on a low rise by the sea north of Maryport, and excavations here showed a small rectangular fortlet with timber buildings inside and a ditch around.

   Read the complete Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21 is where the day begins. Next is Silloth Golf Course tower 12b.

2. 2. Silloth Golf Course tower 12b

   Most people think Hadrian's Wall ends at Bowness-on-Solway, where the stone curtain reached the sea. It did, but the frontier did not. From there, the Romans continued their defences down the Cumbrian coast for many miles, with a chain of milefortlets and towers watching the Solway Firth for raiders crossing from what is now Scotland. Tower 12b stood near Silloth, on ground now occupied by the town's golf course. Nothing much is visible, but the location makes sense as soon as you stand on the shore: the firth is wide and shallow, and across the water rises the hill of Criffel in Galloway.

   Read the complete Silloth Golf Course tower 12b write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Silloth Golf Course tower 12b comes up about 15 km into the recorded legs. Next is Pasture House.

3. 3. Pasture House

   The Solway Firth is one of Britain's great tidal estuaries, wide, shallow and quick. At low water, a vast expanse of sand and mud opens, and when the tide returns, it advances across the flats with astonishing speed. Pasture House lies on the English shore, on the Cardurnock peninsula, with the Scottish town of Annan visible across the water about six kilometres to the north. The Romans extended Hadrian's Wall defences down this coast, and Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21, on a neighbouring ride, is one of a chain of small forts that guarded against crossings.

   Read the complete Pasture House 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 Pasture House. Next is Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End.

4. 4. Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End

   Out on the Solway plain the land flattens, the sky gets enormous, and the sea is never far off even when you cannot see it. The stretch of the vallum near West End lies between Carlisle and the village of Burgh by Sands, on the last run of Hadrian's Wall towards its western end at Bowness-on-Solway. Here the Roman frontier ran along the edge of the marshes and the estuary, where the tide sweeps in across vast sands and salt marsh. Nothing of the Wall stands above ground in this section, but the line is clear on the map, and the country around has a strange, quiet beauty.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End, about halfway. Next is Campfield.

5. 5. Campfield

   Out on the Solway coast west of Carlisle, the land flattens into salt marsh, peat bog and wide tidal sands, and the sky takes over. Campfield Marsh, near Bowness-on-Solway, is a nature reserve run by the RSPB, a mix of salt marsh, wet grassland and raised bog, and in winter it fills with tens of thousands of geese, barnacle and pink-footed, arriving from the Arctic, along with waders that feed on the mud at low tide. Across the firth, the town of Annan and the Scottish hills are visible on a clear day.

   Read the complete Campfield write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Campfield sits at 67 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End.

6. 6. back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall vallum between West End 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 vallum between West End comes up about 101 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Pasture House.

7. 7. back through Pasture House

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Pasture House write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 116 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Pasture House. Next is back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12b.

8. 8. back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12b

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Silloth Golf Course tower 12b write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Silloth Golf Course tower 12b, late in the day. Next is Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21.

9. 9. Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Swarthy Hill milefortlet 21 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 163 km.