Why this ride
129 km from Brampton to Brampton, about 2 h 01 of riding. The stops in between: Bewcastle Roman fort, Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp, Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet and Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Roman bath house to the north east of and Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 129 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 01
- 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
The Roman bath house to the north east of → Bewcastle Roman fort
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 16 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 16 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Roman bath house to the north east of
Brampton is the kind of small Cumbrian market town that riders pass on the A69 without a second look, which is a pity, because the country just north and east of it is some of the richest Roman and medieval ground on the whole Wall. The site of the Roman bath house lies close to the town, near the remains of an early fort on the Stanegate, and like most bath houses it sat outside the fort walls, where its furnaces and the risk of fire could do less harm. Little or nothing stands above ground, so come for the setting rather than the stones.
Read the complete The Roman bath house to the north east of write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Roman bath house to the north east of is where the day begins. Next is Bewcastle Roman fort.
2. Bewcastle Roman fort
Bewcastle is one of the loneliest places in Cumbria, and it has been for a very long time. Roman soldiers built an outpost fort here, about ten kilometres north of Hadrian's Wall, on a plateau whose shape the walls followed, giving it an unusual six-sided plan. It was a forward base for scouts watching the tribes beyond the frontier, and it was linked to the Wall at Birdoswald by a road. Later, a medieval castle was built into one corner of the old Roman defences, and its broken walls still stand above the beck.
Read the complete Bewcastle Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bewcastle Roman fort comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp.
3. Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp
West of Haltwhistle, the land rises gently to the watershed between the Tyne and the Irthing, a broad, windy saddle of rough pasture known as the Tyne Gap, where rivers flow east to the North Sea and west to the Irish Sea. Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp is one of several marching camps here, where Roman soldiers on the move dug a rectangular ditch and rampart for a night or a season, the earthworks now barely visible as low ridges in the grass. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.
Read the complete Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 36 km into the recorded legs you reach Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp. Next is Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet.
4. Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet
Midway along Hadrian's Wall, the land rises into a dramatic line of crags, and here the wall perches along the edge of the Whin Sill, a hard, dark rock that stands like a cliff over green pastures. Roman engineers followed the natural line of the escarpment, and from the top you can see for miles across moor and farmland, with the Cheviot hills blue in the north.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet 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 associated features bet, about halfway. Next is Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp.
5. Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp
Roman armies on campaign dug in every night. Wherever they halted, soldiers threw up a rectangular earth rampart and ditch around their tents, and on Walwick Fell, a short way west of the North Tyne, the faint outline of one of those temporary camps survives in the rough pasture. You need a keen eye and low sunlight to make it out, but its presence is a reminder that the Wall was built, maintained and defended by thousands of men who lived and worked in these hills, sometimes under canvas, sometimes in stone forts.
Read the complete Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp sits at 66 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet.
6. back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet 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 associated features bet comes up about 80 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp.
7. back through Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 93 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp. Next is back through Bewcastle Roman fort.
8. back through Bewcastle Roman fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bewcastle Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bewcastle Roman fort, late in the day. Next is The Roman bath house to the north east of.
9. The Roman bath house to the north east of
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Roman bath house to the north east of 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 129 km.
Leg by leg
The Roman bath house to the north east of to Bewcastle Roman fort
The Roman bath house to the north east of → Bewcastle Roman fort is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bewcastle Roman fort to Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp
Bewcastle Roman fort → Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp to Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet
Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp → Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet to Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp
Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet → Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp to back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet
Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp → back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet to back through Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp
back through Hadrian's Wall and associated features bet → back through Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp to back through Bewcastle Roman fort
back through Chapel Rigg Roman temporary camp → back through Bewcastle Roman fort is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bewcastle Roman fort to The Roman bath house to the north east of
back through Bewcastle Roman fort → The Roman bath house to the north east of is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
- Castlesteads Roman fort and the vallum bet and Twice Brewed Roman temporary camp · 129 km
- Moss Side 1 and 2 Roman temporary camps and Lees Hall Roman camp · 124 km
- Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La and The Roman fort · 112 km
- Red House Roman camp and Hadrian's Wall vallum between the dismantl · 137 km