CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
A 339 km round trip from Carlisle - roughly 5 h 09 in the saddle. The stops in between: Swarthy Hill North tower 20b, Corbridge and back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
When the Romans abandoned their Wall, local builders found it a splendid quarry. Lanercost Priory, a few kilometres east of Brampton, was begun in the twelfth century by Augustinian canons, and its red sandstone includes dressed stones that were once part of the Wall and its forts, still marked with the tool lines of Roman masons. Naworth Castle, close by, was built from the same stone. In that sense, the Wall never really went away: it turned into churches, castles and farm walls across the north of England.
Read the complete The vallum between the road to Laversdale write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The vallum between the road to Laversdale is where the day begins. Next is Swarthy Hill North tower 20b.
Along the Cumbrian coast between Silloth and Maryport, the Roman frontier did not end when Hadrian's stone Wall reached Bowness. A chain of milefortlets and towers continued down the shore, watching the Solway for raiders arriving by boat, and Tower 20b near Swarthy Hill is one of them. It was a small stone watchtower, probably manned by a handful of soldiers, and what remains is a low outline in the turf above the beach. You come for the context and the view across the water rather than for the masonry.
Read the complete Swarthy Hill North tower 20b write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Swarthy Hill North tower 20b comes up about 57 km into the recorded legs. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 170 km into the recorded legs you reach Corbridge. Next is back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Swarthy Hill North tower 20b write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b, late in the day. Next is The vallum between the road to Laversdale.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete The vallum between the road to Laversdale write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at The vallum between the road to Laversdale. That is the ride.
The vallum between the road to Laversdale → Swarthy Hill North tower 20b is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Swarthy Hill North tower 20b → Corbridge is 113 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Corbridge → back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b is 114 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Swarthy Hill North tower 20b → The vallum between the road to Laversdale is 56 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.