Why this ride
80 km from Höhr-Grenzhausen to Höhr-Grenzhausen, about 1 h 29 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort, Watchtoers WP 2/26 to 2/30 and back through Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76 and Watchtoers WP 2/26 to 2/30
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 80 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 29
- 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 22 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 22 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort.
2. Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort
Between the Lahn and the Rhine, the Roman frontier crossed a high, wooded plateau known locally as the Einrich, and the watchtowers from 2/7 to 2/13 stood on this stretch, near the village of Dachsenhausen. In the forest, the earth bank and ditch can still be followed, and small forts, built to house the soldiers who manned the towers, have left their outlines in the ground. Here, as elsewhere in Germany, the Limes belongs to the frontiers of the Roman Empire on the World Heritage list, but the forest is quiet, and you may walk the line for an hour without meeting anyone.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort comes up about 22 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtoers WP 2/26 to 2/30.
3. Watchtoers WP 2/26 to 2/30
Kastell Holzhausen is one of the best-preserved Roman forts along the German Limes, and it lies in a forest clearing near the village of Holzhausen an der Haide in the western Taunus, where the remains of its stone walls, gates and corner towers still stand to a height of a metre or more. The fort housed an auxiliary cohort of several hundred soldiers in the second and third centuries, and it guarded a section of the frontier, the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, along with a chain of watchtowers spaced at regular intervals along the line. The watchtowers numbered WP 2/26 to 2/30, part of the UNESCO listing, stood on this section between the fort and its neighbours.
Read the complete Watchtoers WP 2/26 to 2/30 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 39 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtoers WP 2/26 to 2/30. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort.
4. back through Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76.
5. Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Back at Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76 to Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort
Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76 → Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort to Watchtoers WP 2/26 to 2/30
Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort → Watchtoers WP 2/26 to 2/30 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtoers WP 2/26 to 2/30 to back through Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort
Watchtoers WP 2/26 to 2/30 → back through Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort to Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76
back through Watchtowers WP 2/7 and 2/13 including fort → Watchtowers WP 1/74 to 1/76 is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.