Why this ride
A 343 km round trip from Höhr-Grenzhausen - roughly 5 h 01 in the saddle. It goes by way of Watchtower WP 2/31, Watchtower WP 3/23*, Fortlet Lochmühle and Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the and Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 343 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 01
- 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
Fortlet Lochmühle → Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg
The ride follows Fortlet Lochmühle → Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg for 36 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 36 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the
Roman soldiers on this part of the frontier spent most of their time watching, and the towers that you can trace in the woods near Hillscheid are the evidence. Four tower positions follow one another here, each within sight of the next so that a fire or a flag could pass a message along the line in minutes, and a fortlet and the remains of a fort and civil settlement lie nearby, forming a small military zone around the Limes. This was the first stretch of the Upper Germanic frontier after it left the Rhine, so every day brought traders, patrols and tax collectors through the gap.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 2/31.
2. Watchtower WP 2/31
Holzhausen an der Haide is a small village on the high ground of the western Taunus, between the Rhine and the Lahn, and it has one of the better-preserved Roman fort sites along the Limes. The stone walls of Kastell Holzhausen still stand to a modest height in the fields just outside the village, outlining the fort's rectangle with its rounded corners and gates. Watchtower WP 2/31 belongs to the chain of towers that linked forts like this one along the frontier, and in this open landscape you can easily imagine the signals passing from hill to hill.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 2/31 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 2/31 comes up about 41 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 3/23*.
3. Watchtower WP 3/23*
On the wooded ridges near Idstein, the Taunus Limes crossed some of its highest and most remote ground, and Watchtower WP 3/23 is one of the many sites along this stretch. The asterisk in the official label suggests a site whose exact location is uncertain or reconstructed from survey work, which is common along the frontier, where many towers survive only as faint mounds in the forest. Still, walking the Limes trail here, with the bank and ditch running through the beech woods, gives a real sense of the Roman border.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/23* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 92 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 3/23*. Next is Fortlet Lochmühle.
4. Fortlet Lochmühle
The Lochmühle is a small fortlet on the Limes in the Taunus, near Wehrheim and the famous Saalburg, and it guarded a spot where the frontier crossed the valley of the Erlenbach stream. Fortlets like this were small outposts, housing a handful of soldiers who watched the border and controlled traffic, and they formed a link between the watchtowers and the larger forts. Its remains are modest, but the location, in a quiet valley surrounded by forest, has a peaceful charm. The name comes from a nearby mill, now a popular leisure park for families with play areas and farm animals.
Read the complete Fortlet Lochmühle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fortlet Lochmühle, about halfway. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg.
5. Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg
Arnsburg confuses people, and for good reason. The name belongs first to a Cistercian monastery in the Wetter valley near Lich, whose roofless Gothic church stands in a meadow as one of the most romantic ruins in Hesse. But on the wooded hill nearby lies an older layer: a Roman fort on the Limes, sometimes called the Alteburg, with its civil settlement, and the frontier itself running past on its way around the northern edge of the Wetterau.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fortlet Lochmühle.
6. back through Fortlet Lochmühle
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fortlet Lochmühle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fortlet Lochmühle comes up about 203 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Watchtower WP 3/23*.
7. back through Watchtower WP 3/23*
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/23* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 264 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Watchtower WP 3/23*. Next is back through Watchtower WP 2/31.
8. back through Watchtower WP 2/31
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 2/31 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 2/31, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the.
9. Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the 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 343 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the to Watchtower WP 2/31
Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the → Watchtower WP 2/31 is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 2/31 to Watchtower WP 3/23*
Watchtower WP 2/31 → Watchtower WP 3/23* is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 3/23* to Fortlet Lochmühle
Watchtower WP 3/23* → Fortlet Lochmühle is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlet Lochmühle to Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg
Fortlet Lochmühle → Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg to back through Fortlet Lochmühle
Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg → back through Fortlet Lochmühle is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fortlet Lochmühle to back through Watchtower WP 3/23*
back through Fortlet Lochmühle → back through Watchtower WP 3/23* is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 3/23* to back through Watchtower WP 2/31
back through Watchtower WP 3/23* → back through Watchtower WP 2/31 is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 2/31 to Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the
back through Watchtower WP 2/31 → Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.