Why this ride
158 km from Bad Ems to Bad Ems, about 3 h 24 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtower WP 1/73, Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the, Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe and Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 and Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 158 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 24
- 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 19 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 19 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6
WP 2/5 and 2/6 sound like spare parts, but they are the numbers archaeologists gave to two watchtower positions on the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, the fortified frontier Rome drew across southern Germany. Here, in the hills above the Lahn near Bad Ems, the line ran up from the Rhine and over the high ground, and every few hundred metres a tower stood with a view to the next. Today most of what survives are low mounds, traces of the bank and ditch, and in some places a reconstructed tower to give you scale. The whole frontier became part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire in 2005.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 1/73.
2. Watchtower WP 1/73
The Roman frontier in Germany starts at the Rhine near Rheinbrohl and climbs into the hills of the Westerwald, and Watchtower WP 1/73, near Hillscheid, belongs to that first stretch. The numbers tell you where you are: section one, tower seventy-three. All that survives is a low mound in the woods, but in the second and third centuries it was a stone tower with a view over the frontier line and, behind it, the palisade and ditch that ran across the landscape. The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes has been part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire since 2005, and this is where it all begins.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/73 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 1/73 comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the.
3. Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the
The Upper Germanic Limes begins a few kilometres from here, at Rheinbrohl on the Rhine, and in its first miles it climbs straight up into the Westerwald. Watchtowers numbered WP 1/41 to 1/50 mark a short run of that frontier in the wooded hills behind Neuwied and Bendorf, near the villages of Stromberg, Anhausen and Heimbach-Weis. Do not expect towers. What remains is a low bank, a ditch you can trace through the beech trunks, and here and there the outline of a tower base marked by archaeologists.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 43 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe.
4. Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe
On the heights above the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Koblenz, the suburb of Niederberg sits on top of a Roman fort. It is one of the forts of the Upper Germanic Limes, which ran through the hills here a few kilometres back from the river, and the label refers to the fort site and the civilian settlement that grew up around it, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. Not much is visible today, as the area is built over, but the location explains a great deal.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe 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 Niederbe, about halfway. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo.
5. Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo
The Roman frontier in Germany, the Limes, begins at the Rhine near Rheinbrohl, and a few kilometres upstream the town of Neuwied sits on the river, its district of Heddesdorf lying on the site of a Roman auxiliary fort. The fort was one of a chain of garrison posts in the Neuwied basin, a wide, fertile bowl of the Rhine valley with a mild climate, and the soldiers who lived here controlled the river crossing and the road toward the frontier. A civil settlement, a vicus, grew beside the fort, with traders, craftsmen and families. Nothing stands today above ground, because the fort lies under houses and streets, and what survives is documented in the finds in the local museum, in markers and in the street plan.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo 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 Heddesdo sits at 69 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe.
6. back through Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe 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 Niederbe comes up about 96 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the.
7. back through Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 116 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the. Next is back through Watchtower WP 1/73.
8. back through Watchtower WP 1/73
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/73 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 1/73, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6.
9. Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 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 158 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 to Watchtower WP 1/73
Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 → Watchtower WP 1/73 is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/73 to Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the
Watchtower WP 1/73 → Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the to Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe
Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the → Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe to Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe → Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe
Fort site and civil settlement of Heddesdo → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe to back through Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe → back through Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the to back through Watchtower WP 1/73
back through Watchtowers WP 1/41 to 1/50 including the → back through Watchtower WP 1/73 is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 1/73 to Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6
back through Watchtower WP 1/73 → Watchtowers WP 2/5 to 2/6 is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.