Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the and Watchtower WP 1/64
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
325 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 44
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 325 km round trip from Idstein - roughly 5 h 44 in the saddle. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22, Watchtower WP 1/62, Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f and Watchtower WP 1/64. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Scenic road chapters
Moselle Wine Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 34 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
Length
34 km
Named road
Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the
In the hills of the Taunus north of Wiesbaden, the Roman frontier ran along the ridges through dense forest, and between watchtowers 3/15 and 3/19 near Idstein, its line can still be traced on the ground. The Romans built an earth bank and ditch, topped with a wooden palisade, with stone watchtowers at regular intervals, close enough to see each other and signal along the line. In the forest, the bank and ditch survive as a long, low ridge and hollow, and the foundations of watchtowers appear as low mounds, sometimes with a few stones visible. The Upper Germanic and Raetian Limes, more than five hundred kilometres long, has been a World Heritage site since 2005.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22.
2. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 comes up 35 km in. Next is Watchtower WP 1/62.
3. Watchtower WP 1/62
Höhr-Grenzhausen smells faintly of kilns if you catch it on the right day. This small town on the western edge of the Westerwald, a few kilometres north-east of Koblenz, sits at the heart of the Kannenbäckerland, the jug-bakers' country, where potters have been turning the local grey clay into salt-glazed stoneware for centuries. The Roman frontier passed right through here too, and watchtower WP 1/62 was one of the posts on the Upper Germanic Limes as it ran across these hills, now part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
70 km in you reach Watchtower WP 1/62. Next is Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f.
4. Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f
North of the Taunus ridge, the Limes crossed a high, open plateau between the Rhine and the Lahn, and the stretch with watchtowers 2/23 to 2/26 runs through the farmland and woods near Miehlen and Singhofen in the Rhein-Lahn district. The remains here are subtle, mostly low banks and the traces of towers in fields and forest edges, but the line of the frontier is marked by the long-distance Limes trail and information boards. This is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, a stretch of the line that few visitors ever see.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f, about halfway. Next is Watchtower WP 1/64.
5. 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 325 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the to Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22
Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the → Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 to Watchtower WP 1/62
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 → Watchtower WP 1/62 is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/62 to Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f
Watchtower WP 1/62 → Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f to Watchtower WP 1/64
Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f → Watchtower WP 1/64 is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 1/64 to back through Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f
Watchtower WP 1/64 → back through Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f to back through Watchtower WP 1/62
back through Watchtowers WP WP 2/23 to 2/26 including f → back through Watchtower WP 1/62 is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 1/62 to back through Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22
back through Watchtower WP 1/62 → back through Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 to Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the
back through Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 → Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.