The vallum between the field boundary sout and Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. The vallum between the field boundary sout

   Not every stretch of Hadrian's Wall is the dramatic crag-top masonry of the postcards, and this is one of the quieter parts: a section of the vallum, the great ditch-and-mound earthwork the Romans dug behind the wall, running across farmland near Brampton in Cumbria. The stone wall here was largely robbed out long ago for farms and churches, so what survives is often a long, soft hollow in the grass, a line you only notice once someone points it out, and then can't stop seeing.

   Read the complete The vallum between the field boundary sout write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   The vallum between the field boundary sout is where the day begins. Next is Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b.

2. 2. Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b

   When people talk about Hadrian's Wall they usually mean the stone barrier across the neck of England, but the system continued down the Cumbrian coast for dozens of kilometres, as a chain of small forts, called milefortlets, and watchtowers facing the Irish Sea. Tower 16b, at Mawbray, was one of those lookouts, standing on the low, windswept coast between Silloth and Maryport. The Romans feared raids by sea, and a line of towers gave warning along the coast, with signals passing from one to the next.

   Read the complete Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b comes up about 62 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house.

3. 3. Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house

   Walls Castle is the odd name for a Roman bath house, and the building still stands to a height of about four metres, one of the tallest Roman structures in northern England. It stood outside the fort of Glannoventa at Ravenglass, a harbour station at the meeting of three rivers, the Irt, the Mite and the Esk, and in the dry shelter of the dunes it has survived because its walls were thick and well built. You can walk around it on a short path from the village, and see niches and a doorway in the thick walls. The fort itself lies mostly under farmland and the railway.

   Read the complete Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 124 km into the recorded legs you reach Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house. Next is back through Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b.

4. 4. back through Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Mawbray Sandpit tower 16b, late in the day. Next is The vallum between the field boundary sout.

5. 5. The vallum between the field boundary sout

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete The vallum between the field boundary sout write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at The vallum between the field boundary sout. That is the ride.