Why this ride
From Hexham it runs 112 km to Hexham; allow about 1 h 47 of riding. The stops in between: Housesteads fort, Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and, Boothby Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 112 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 47
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The Roman fort
Down by the North Tyne, where the river runs fast over stones under a canopy of trees, a Roman cavalry regiment once kept its horses and its very comfortable bath house. Chesters, the fort the Romans called Cilurnum, sat astride Hadrian's Wall near the village of Walwick, guarding the bridge that carried the wall across the river. It is one of the best preserved forts along the wall, with the headquarters building, the commander's house and the bath house still standing to knee or shoulder height, and the remains of the bridge abutment visible on the far bank.
Read the complete The Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The Roman fort is where the day begins. Next is Housesteads fort.
2. Housesteads fort
Of all the forts on Hadrian's Wall, Housesteads is the one that most people picture. It stands on the edge of the Whin Sill, high above the moors, with long grey walls running along the ridge on either side and an enormous view in every direction. The Romans called it Vercovicium, and from the road it takes about ten minutes to walk up the hill from the car park and museum to the gate, with the wind in your face.
Read the complete Housesteads fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Housesteads fort comes up about 13 km into the recorded legs. Next is Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and.
3. Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and
A Syrian archer unit once garrisoned this hilltop. Carvoran was the Roman fort at the junction of the Wall with the Maiden Way, a road that ran north towards Scotland, and at one time the cohors I Hamiorum, an auxiliary unit raised in the city of Hama in Syria, was stationed here, men who had marched or sailed across the empire to guard a wet, windy ridge in Northumberland. A bronze grain measure found at Carvoran, the Carvoran modius, carries a long inscription that mentions the emperor Hadrian, and it gives a glimpse of how the garrison was supplied. The fort is mostly a grassy platform now, but the position, on a ridge with views over the Tyne Gap, shows why it was chosen.
Read the complete Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 26 km into the recorded legs you reach Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and. Next is Boothby Roman fort.
4. Boothby Roman fort
Brampton is a small red-sandstone market town on the edge of the northern Pennines, and just outside it, on the line of the old Stanegate road, lay Boothby, one of the Roman forts that guarded the frontier before Hadrian's Wall was built. There is nothing much to see on the ground now, only a field and a slight rise, but the location is a good jumping-off point for some of the best riding and the best Wall sites in Cumbria.
Read the complete Boothby Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Boothby Roman fort, about halfway. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La.
5. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La
Just east of Carlisle, near the village of Scotby, the Wall leaves almost no mark on the land. Here, at the western end of the Roman frontier, it was built first of turf and timber before being rebuilt in stone, and much of that stone has since been carried off to build farmhouses, churches and field walls. What survives is mostly buried, a faint line in the pasture or a slight ridge followed by a hedge. The vallum, the great earthwork that ran behind the wall, sometimes shows as a shallow trough in the fields. Yet this quiet stretch is part of the same World Heritage site as the dramatic crags further east, and walking the Hadrian's Wall Path through it gives a sense of continuity across the whole country.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La 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 Birky La sits at 67 km, about halfway. Next is back through Boothby Roman fort.
6. back through Boothby Roman fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Boothby 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 Boothby Roman fort comes up about 68 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and.
7. back through Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 84 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and. Next is back through Housesteads fort.
8. back through Housesteads fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Housesteads fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Housesteads fort, late in the day. Next is The Roman fort.
9. The Roman fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The Roman fort 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 112 km.
Leg by leg
The Roman fort to Housesteads fort
The Roman fort → Housesteads fort is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Housesteads fort to Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and
Housesteads fort → Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and to Boothby Roman fort
Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and → Boothby Roman fort is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Boothby Roman fort to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La
Boothby Roman fort → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La to back through Boothby Roman fort
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between Birky La → back through Boothby Roman fort is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Boothby Roman fort to back through Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and
back through Boothby Roman fort → back through Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and to back through Housesteads fort
back through Carvoran Roman fort and Hadrian's Wall and → back through Housesteads fort is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Housesteads fort to The Roman fort
back through Housesteads fort → The Roman fort is 13 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
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