Why this ride
From Singhofen it runs 183 km to Singhofen; allow about 3 h 30 of riding. The stops in between: Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em, Watchtower WP 1/64, Bad Ems and Fortlet Ferbach.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 and Fortlet Ferbach
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 183 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 30
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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 17 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 17 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22
A few kilometres west of Miehlen, the Limes crosses the Einrich, a high, open plateau of fields and meadows between the Rhine and the Lahn, and the stretch with watchtowers 2/20 to 2/22, near Singhofen and Holzhausen an der Haide, is one of the quietest parts of the whole frontier. Nearby, the fort of Holzhausen is one of the best-preserved Roman forts on the Limes, with its stone walls, gates and corner towers clearly visible in the forest, a rare sight on a frontier where most remains have vanished into the fields. The whole line is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em.
2. Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em
Bad Ems has been a spa town since the Romans noticed the springs, and today it is a handsome, slightly faded place squeezed into the narrow Lahn valley between wooded hills. The town and its surroundings sit on the line of the Upper Germanic Limes, which the Roman Empire pushed through here to protect the valley and its minerals. A fortlet and a watchtower were built on the heights above the river, and the remains give the numbered label its meaning. Walk a short way up and you can see why the soldiers picked the spot: the slopes drop sharply to the water, and the view along the valley is long.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em comes up 17 km in. Next is Watchtower WP 1/64.
3. Watchtower WP 1/64
Höhr-Grenzhausen smells of clay and fire. The town, in the Westerwald hills north east of Koblenz, is the heart of the Kannenbäckerland, the jug-bakers' land, where potters have been making salt-glazed stoneware for centuries, with its characteristic grey body and cobalt blue decoration. Westerwald stoneware jugs, mugs and pots were exported across Europe and beyond, and the craft is still alive today, with workshops, a ceramics museum and a college for ceramic design. The Roman frontier ran right past the town, and the site of watchtower WP 1/64, near Höhr-Grenzhausen, is one of the many traces of the Upper German Limes, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/64 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
33 km in you reach Watchtower WP 1/64. Next is Bad Ems.
4. Bad Ems
The most consequential telegram in German history was sent from a spa town on the Lahn. In July 1870, King Wilhelm I of Prussia was taking the waters at Bad Ems when the French ambassador came to ask him to promise that no Hohenzollern prince would ever take the Spanish throne. The king refused politely, and sent a report to Bismarck in Berlin, who edited the text to make it sound like a snub, and published it. The Ems Dispatch, as it is known, helped to provoke France to declare war, and the Franco-Prussian War led to the creation of the German Empire in 1871.
Read the complete Bad Ems write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Bad Ems, about halfway. Next is Fortlet Ferbach.
5. Fortlet Ferbach
The Limes was a frontier made of many small pieces, and Ferbach is one of the little ones. It was a fortlet, a small stone-and-timber post on the Upper Germanic frontier that ran from the Rhine into the hills of the Westerwald, and it housed a handful of soldiers who watched the ground in front of them. Nothing here is grand. What you find is a wooded plateau with traces of ditches and the outline of a small enclosure, and the interest lies in imagining the daily routine of men on a frontier posted far from Rome.
Read the complete Fortlet Ferbach write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fortlet Ferbach sits at 67 km, about halfway. Next is back through Bad Ems.
6. back through Bad Ems
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Bad Ems write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Bad Ems comes up 83 km in. Next is back through Watchtower WP 1/64.
7. back through Watchtower WP 1/64
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/64 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
100 km in you reach back through Watchtower WP 1/64. Next is back through Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em.
8. back through Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em 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 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22.
9. Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 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 183 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 to Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 → Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em to Watchtower WP 1/64
Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em → Watchtower WP 1/64 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/64 to Bad Ems
Watchtower WP 1/64 → Bad Ems is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Bad Ems to Fortlet Ferbach
Bad Ems → Fortlet Ferbach is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlet Ferbach to back through Bad Ems
Fortlet Ferbach → back through Bad Ems is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Bad Ems to back through Watchtower WP 1/64
back through Bad Ems → back through Watchtower WP 1/64 is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 1/64 to back through Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em
back through Watchtower WP 1/64 → back through Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em to Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22
back through Watchtower WP 2/1 including fortlet Bad Em → Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.