Why this ride
From Prudhoe it runs 264 km to Prudhoe; allow about 3 h 44 of riding. On the way it passes Roman fort, Durham Castle and Cathedral, Lees Hall Roman camp and back through Durham Castle and Cathedral. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
The vallum between Oatens Bank and Lees Hall Roman camp
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 264 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 44
- 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
Roman fort → Durham Castle and Cathedral
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 29 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 30 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. The vallum between Oatens Bank
Look south of the road near Oatens Bank, just west of Heddon on the Wall, and you will see it: a broad, flat-bottomed ditch running across the fields, with a low mound on either side. That is the vallum, and it is one of the strangest and most debated elements of Hadrian's Wall. It runs parallel to the wall, a short distance to the south, along most of its length, and it seems to have marked the rear edge of the military zone, controlling access from the south rather than defending against attack from the north. Crossings were limited to causeways opposite the forts, which suggests a kind of customs line.
Read the complete The vallum between Oatens Bank write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The vallum between Oatens Bank is where the day begins. Next is Roman fort.
2. Roman fort
Newcastle got its name from a castle built in 1080 by Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror, but the hilltop he chose above the Tyne had already been used for centuries. Beneath the Castle Keep and the Black Gate lie the remains of Pons Aelius, a small Roman fort that guarded a bridge across the river near the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. The name honoured Hadrian himself, whose family name was Aelius. Outlines of the fort are marked in the paving around the keep, and the Swing Bridge below crosses the river close to where the Roman bridge stood.
Read the complete Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Roman fort comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Durham Castle and Cathedral.
3. Durham Castle and Cathedral
The river Wear loops around a rocky peninsula in a tight horseshoe, and on top of it, rising above the trees, stand Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle, one of the most impressive views in Britain. The Normans built both in the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries, soon after the Conquest, as a statement of power in the turbulent north. The cathedral is a masterpiece of Romanesque architecture, with massive columns carved with zigzags and spirals, and its stone rib vaults are among the earliest of their kind in Europe, pointing the way to Gothic architecture. Together, castle and cathedral were listed by UNESCO in 1986.
Read the complete Durham Castle and Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 53 km into the recorded legs you reach Durham Castle and Cathedral. Next is Lees Hall Roman camp.
4. Lees Hall Roman camp
Haltwhistle likes to call itself the centre of Britain, a claim measured with some creativity, and it is certainly the middle of Hadrian's Wall country, a small market town on the South Tyne where the river valley narrows between the Pennines and the Wall crags. Lees Hall Roman camp is one of the temporary camps the army threw up while building the Wall or on campaign, a rectangle of bank and ditch now softened by grass. These marching camps were quick, practical affairs, ploughed flat in many places, and what survives is mostly a faint earthwork seen best in low evening light.
Read the complete Lees Hall Roman camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Lees Hall Roman camp, about halfway. Next is back through Durham Castle and Cathedral.
5. back through Durham Castle and Cathedral
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Durham Castle and Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Durham Castle and Cathedral sits at 182 km, about halfway. Next is back through Roman fort.
6. back through Roman fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete 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 Roman fort comes up about 243 km into the recorded legs. Next is The vallum between Oatens Bank.
7. The vallum between Oatens Bank
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The vallum between Oatens Bank write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The vallum between Oatens Bank closes the day.
Leg by leg
The vallum between Oatens Bank to Roman fort
The vallum between Oatens Bank → Roman fort is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Roman fort to Durham Castle and Cathedral
Roman fort → Durham Castle and Cathedral is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Durham Castle and Cathedral to Lees Hall Roman camp
Durham Castle and Cathedral → Lees Hall Roman camp is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Lees Hall Roman camp to back through Durham Castle and Cathedral
Lees Hall Roman camp → back through Durham Castle and Cathedral is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Durham Castle and Cathedral to back through Roman fort
back through Durham Castle and Cathedral → back through Roman fort is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Roman fort to The vallum between Oatens Bank
back through Roman fort → The vallum between Oatens Bank is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.