Why this ride
From Hexham it runs 256 km to Hexham; allow about 4 h 17 of riding. It goes by way of Crooks Roman temporary camp, Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66, Skinburness and Burrow Walls Roman fort. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp and Burrow Walls Roman fort
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 256 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 17
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp
Roman armies on campaign dug in every night. Wherever they halted, soldiers threw up a rectangular earth rampart and ditch around their tents, and on Walwick Fell, a short way west of the North Tyne, the faint outline of one of those temporary camps survives in the rough pasture. You need a keen eye and low sunlight to make it out, but its presence is a reminder that the Wall was built, maintained and defended by thousands of men who lived and worked in these hills, sometimes under canvas, sometimes in stone forts.
Read the complete Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp is where the day begins. Next is Crooks Roman temporary camp.
2. Crooks Roman temporary camp
The Roman army on the march built a camp every night: a rectangle of ditch and rampart, with tents inside, defended by sentries. These temporary camps, often used only once or for a short campaign, left faint traces in the landscape, and many have been found from the air in the north of England. Crooks, near Haltwhistle and Greenhead, in the area where Northumberland meets Cumbria, is one of several temporary camps along the line of Hadrian's Wall, probably used by the soldiers who built the Wall in the second century.
Read the complete Crooks Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Crooks Roman temporary camp comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66.
3. Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66
The western end of Hadrian's Wall runs right through Carlisle, and the stretch counted as wall mile 66 lies on the edge of the city, close to where the wall crossed the River Eden. The Roman town of Luguvalium grew up here, and the fort at Stanwix, across the river, housed a cavalry regiment and was the largest on the wall. Very little of the stone wall survives in the city, much of it having been robbed for buildings, but the line of the wall and vallum can be traced in places, and the Tullie House museum tells the story of Roman Carlisle with excellent displays.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66. Next is Skinburness.
4. Skinburness
Skinburness is a scatter of houses at the tip of a shingle spit on the Solway coast of Cumbria, just north of Silloth, looking across the wide, shimmering estuary to the hills of Scotland. When the tide goes out, the Solway empties into vast expanses of sand and mud, with channels winding through them, and the light changes constantly as clouds race overhead. On clear evenings, the sunsets over the Scottish hills, with the dark bulk of Criffel opposite, are spectacular.
Read the complete Skinburness write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Skinburness, about halfway. Next is Burrow Walls Roman fort.
5. Burrow Walls Roman fort
On the northern edge of Workington, near the mouth of the river Derwent, a fragment of stone wall stands alone in a field, a jagged piece of masonry rising above the grass. It is part of Burrow Walls, a Roman fort that guarded the Cumbrian coast, one of the chain of defences that extended from the western end of Hadrian's Wall down the shore to watch for raiders crossing from Scotland and Ireland. Much of the fort's stone was reused in a medieval building on the site, and what survives today is modest, but it is part of the Hadrian's Wall World Heritage site and has a lonely charm, with views over the sea and the river.
Read the complete Burrow Walls Roman fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Burrow Walls Roman fort sits at 144 km, about halfway. Next is back through Skinburness.
6. back through Skinburness
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Skinburness write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Skinburness comes up about 161 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66.
7. back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 197 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66. Next is back through Crooks Roman temporary camp.
8. back through Crooks Roman temporary camp
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Crooks Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Crooks Roman temporary camp, late in the day. Next is Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp.
9. Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 256 km.
Leg by leg
Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp to Crooks Roman temporary camp
Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp → Crooks Roman temporary camp is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Crooks Roman temporary camp to Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66
Crooks Roman temporary camp → Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 to Skinburness
Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 → Skinburness is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Skinburness to Burrow Walls Roman fort
Skinburness → Burrow Walls Roman fort is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Burrow Walls Roman fort to back through Skinburness
Burrow Walls Roman fort → back through Skinburness is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Skinburness to back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66
back through Skinburness → back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 to back through Crooks Roman temporary camp
back through Hadrian's Wall and vallum in wall mile 66 → back through Crooks Roman temporary camp is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Crooks Roman temporary camp to Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp
back through Crooks Roman temporary camp → Walwick Fell Roman temporary camp is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.