Why this ride
181 km from Neuwied to Neuwied, about 3 h 11 of riding. The stops in between: Watchtower WP 1/77, Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe, Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76 and back through Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 and Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 181 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 11
- 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
Moselle Wine Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 28 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 28 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38
Two numbered watchtower sites on the Roman frontier sit here in the Westerwald countryside above the Rhine, near the villages of Melsbach and Rengsdorf. The paired label is archaeologists' shorthand, because the Upper Germanic Limes was a chain of towers placed within sight of one another, a few hundred metres apart. These two were part of the line that ran from the Rhine near Rheinbrohl across the hills of Rhineland-Palatinate and on towards the Taunus, and the whole frontier is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, listed in 2005 as part of the larger Roman Limes complex.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 1/77.
2. Watchtower WP 1/77
In the hills of the Westerwald, east of Koblenz, the Roman frontier ran from the Rhine up across the high ground towards the Taunus, and archaeologists have numbered every tower site along it. Watchtower WP 1/77, near the villages of Kadenbach and Arzbach, is one of them, now marked by a low mound or reconstructed foundations in the woods. The frontier here was a palisade of timber and later an earth bank and ditch, with towers every few hundred metres, and the whole system is part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes World Heritage listing.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/77 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 1/77 comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe.
3. Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe
Marienfels is a small village in the hills of the western Taunus, between the Rhine and the Lahn, and it sits on the site of a Roman fort and its civilian settlement, part of the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes World Heritage listing. The frontier wall ran through these hills, and the fort housed a garrison that guarded the frontier and the roads that crossed it. Little remains above ground, but excavations have revealed the outline of the fort and the settlement, with houses, baths and workshops.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe 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 Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76.
4. Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76
Between Hillscheid, Neuhäusel and Kadenbach the land lifts into a low, rolling plateau of fields, beech copses and small clay pits, and the watchtowers 1/74 to 1/76 mark a tight cluster of Roman posts on the frontier. On paper it looks like a long list, but on the ground it is a gentle, almost domestic country where cows graze behind electric fences and church towers rise over village roofs. The frontier here was part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, which UNESCO listed in 2005, and a map of the area shows a sequence of numbered towers a few hundred metres apart, each one in sight of the next.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76, about halfway. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe.
5. back through Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe sits at 99 km, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtower WP 1/77.
6. back through Watchtower WP 1/77
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/77 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtower WP 1/77 comes up about 153 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38.
7. Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 to Watchtower WP 1/77
Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 → Watchtower WP 1/77 is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/77 to Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe
Watchtower WP 1/77 → Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe to Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76
Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe → Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76 is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76 to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe
Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76 → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe to back through Watchtower WP 1/77
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe → back through Watchtower WP 1/77 is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 1/77 to Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38
back through Watchtower WP 1/77 → Watchtowers WP 1/37 to 1/38 is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.