The Stangate at Crosby Lodge and Corbridge

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 Maryport Golf Course tower 22a.

2. 2. Maryport Golf Course tower 22a

   Hadrian's Wall gets the fame, but the Romans kept watching long after it ended at Bowness. The coast of Cumberland, from the Solway to St Bees, was fitted with a line of forts, fortlets and watchtowers, each numbered in sequence, and Tower 22a is one of them. It stands on the cliff above Maryport, in a place that the golf course has swallowed, and what you will find is a modest earthwork or a marker rather than a standing tower. The Romans built Alauna, a fort at Maryport, on the high ground above the harbour, and the finds from it, a collection of seventeen carved altars buried in a pit, are displayed in the Senhouse Roman Museum in a former naval battery overlooking the sea.

   Read the complete Maryport Golf Course tower 22a write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Maryport Golf Course tower 22a comes up about 54 km into the recorded legs. Next is Corbridge.

3. 3. Corbridge

   Two thousand years ago, Dere Street, the Roman road heading north into Scotland, crossed the Tyne here, and a town grew up around a supply base just behind Hadrian's Wall. Coria, now called Corbridge Roman Town, was a bustling place with granaries, temples, workshops and a main street, and its remains, managed by English Heritage, are among the most important Roman sites in Britain. The museum displays finds including the Corbridge Hoard, a chest of armour and equipment, and the Corbridge Lion, a sculpture of a lion attacking a stag.

   Read the complete Corbridge write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 170 km into the recorded legs you reach Corbridge. Next is back through Maryport Golf Course tower 22a.

4. 4. back through Maryport Golf Course tower 22a

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Maryport Golf Course tower 22a write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Maryport Golf Course tower 22a, 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.