The Stangate at Crosby Lodge and Campfield

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. The Stangate at Crosby Lodge

   Before there was a Wall, there was a road. The Stanegate, a Roman route running east to west between the Tyne at Corbridge and the Eden at Carlisle, was the first frontier line in northern Britain, guarded by a string of forts decades before Hadrian ordered his great barrier built a little to the north. Near Crosby-on-Eden, a few miles east of Carlisle, the line of the old road passes through gentle farmland on the north bank of the Eden, and while there is little to see of the road itself, the landscape tells the story of how the Romans picked their way across this narrow neck of the country.

   Read the complete The Stangate at Crosby Lodge write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   The Stangate at Crosby Lodge is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of.

2. 2. Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of

   The Solway Firth, west of Carlisle, is a wide, shallow estuary where the Cumbrian plain opens out to the sea, and the marshes and farmland on its southern shore are the western end of Hadrian's Wall, with the Scottish hills visible on the far side. The land is low, wet and windy, with cattle in the fields and tall skies full of birds, and a visitor will find little that looks like Roman engineering until they look closely at the ground.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of 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 east side of comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is Campfield.

3. 3. 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

   about 41 km into the recorded legs you reach Campfield. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of.

4. 4. back through Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Hadrian's Wall vallum between east side of 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 east side of, late in the day. Next is The Stangate at Crosby Lodge.

5. 5. The Stangate at Crosby Lodge

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete The Stangate at Crosby Lodge write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at The Stangate at Crosby Lodge. That is the ride.