Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47 and Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47

   Up in the hills above the Altmühl valley, west of Neustadt an der Donau and the Danube, the old Raetian frontier crossed some of its prettiest country. The numbers 15/27 to 15/47 cover a long stretch of the line, and because that line follows the ridges and plateau edges, the landscape is a mixture of fields, juniper-dotted limestone slopes and sheltered woods. The Altmühl itself is a slow river that has cut a deep, winding valley through Jurassic limestone, and the whole district is a nature park, known for fossils from the quarries at Solnhofen.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47 is where the day begins. Next is Fort site of Oberhochstatt.

2. 2. Fort site of Oberhochstatt

   Not every Roman fort on the frontier was a great stone fortress. Some were small, temporary or quickly abandoned, and the fort site of Oberhochstatt, on the high plateau above Weißenburg in Bavaria, seems to have been one of these, a modest garrison post on the Raetian Limes. There is little to see today beyond a field, perhaps an information board and the outline of the defences in the grass. But the landscape around is full of Roman history, and the town of Weißenburg, a short ride away, is one of the best places in Germany to experience it.

   Read the complete Fort site of Oberhochstatt write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Fort site of Oberhochstatt comes up about 61 km into the recorded legs. Next is Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a.

3. 3. Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a

   In the fields near Wilburgstetten, in the west of Franconia, a low ridge runs across the landscape, overgrown with grass and bushes. It looks like nothing much, but it is the remains of the Raetian Limes, the stone wall that marked the frontier of the Roman province of Raetia in the second and third centuries. Unlike the Upper German Limes to the north west, which was mostly a palisade and ditch, the Raetian section was eventually built as a continuous stone wall, more than a hundred and sixty kilometres long. Local people later called it the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, believing it could only have been built by supernatural forces. The section between watchtowers here is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site.

   Read the complete Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 124 km into the recorded legs you reach Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a. Next is back through Fort site of Oberhochstatt.

4. 4. back through Fort site of Oberhochstatt

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Fort site of Oberhochstatt 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 of Oberhochstatt, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47.

5. 5. Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47 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 15/27 to 15/47. That is the ride.