Why this ride
193 km from Glashütten to Glashütten, about 3 h 20 of riding. On the way it passes Watchtower WP 3/23*, Fortlet Adolfseck, Watchtower WP 2/31 and Watchtower WP 3/4*.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the and Watchtower WP 3/4*
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 193 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 20
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the
High in the Taunus hills northwest of Frankfurt, the Upper German Limes runs along the main ridge, and here, between Glashütten and Schmitten, a series of watchtower sites and the remains of a small fort follow the frontier through dense beech and spruce forest. The bank and ditch of the Limes are still clearly visible, winding over the hills like a long scar, and the area is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. Nearby, on the Kleiner Feldberg, lie the remains of a Roman fort, and a few kilometres east, the Saalburg near Bad Homburg is a fully reconstructed fort with a museum, the best place in Germany to imagine life on the frontier.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 3/23*.
2. Watchtower WP 3/23*
On the wooded ridges near Idstein, the Taunus Limes crossed some of its highest and most remote ground, and Watchtower WP 3/23 is one of the many sites along this stretch. The asterisk in the official label suggests a site whose exact location is uncertain or reconstructed from survey work, which is common along the frontier, where many towers survive only as faint mounds in the forest. Still, walking the Limes trail here, with the bank and ditch running through the beech woods, gives a real sense of the Roman border.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/23* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 3/23* comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fortlet Adolfseck.
3. Fortlet Adolfseck
The Aar is a small river that winds north from the Taunus towards the Lahn, through a narrow, wooded valley that has served as a route through the hills since ancient times. Where the Roman frontier crossed the valley near Adolfseck, today a district of Bad Schwalbach, the Romans built a fortlet to control the crossing, a small, square fortification with a garrison of a few dozen soldiers. The remains have been excavated and are marked on the ground, and the stretch of frontier nearby is part of the World Heritage frontiers of the Roman Empire. Above the valley, the ruins of a medieval castle, also called Adolfseck, add another layer of history.
Read the complete Fortlet Adolfseck write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 48 km into the recorded legs you reach Fortlet Adolfseck. Next is Watchtower WP 2/31.
4. Watchtower WP 2/31
Holzhausen an der Haide is a small village on the high ground of the western Taunus, between the Rhine and the Lahn, and it has one of the better-preserved Roman fort sites along the Limes. The stone walls of Kastell Holzhausen still stand to a modest height in the fields just outside the village, outlining the fort's rectangle with its rounded corners and gates. Watchtower WP 2/31 belongs to the chain of towers that linked forts like this one along the frontier, and in this open landscape you can easily imagine the signals passing from hill to hill.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 2/31 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 2/31, about halfway. Next is Watchtower WP 3/4*.
5. Watchtower WP 3/4*
In the western Taunus, between Bad Schwalbach and Taunusstein, the forest is thick and the hills roll gently, and the Upper German Limes runs along the ridge here as a still visible bank and ditch. The site labelled Watchtower WP 3/4 is one of the many small posts along this section, and a few kilometres to the east, near Taunusstein-Orlen, the fort of Zugmantel guarded a crossing of the frontier on an old trade route into Germanic territory. These remains are part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site, and a walk along the Limes trail through the forest here is peaceful and atmospheric.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/4* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 3/4* sits at 74 km, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtower WP 2/31.
6. back through Watchtower WP 2/31
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 2/31 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 2/31 comes up about 111 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Fortlet Adolfseck.
7. back through Fortlet Adolfseck
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fortlet Adolfseck write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 130 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Fortlet Adolfseck. Next is back through Watchtower WP 3/23*.
8. back through Watchtower WP 3/23*
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/23* 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 3/23*, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the.
9. Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the 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 193 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the to Watchtower WP 3/23*
Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the → Watchtower WP 3/23* is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 3/23* to Fortlet Adolfseck
Watchtower WP 3/23* → Fortlet Adolfseck is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlet Adolfseck to Watchtower WP 2/31
Fortlet Adolfseck → Watchtower WP 2/31 is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 2/31 to Watchtower WP 3/4*
Watchtower WP 2/31 → Watchtower WP 3/4* is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 3/4* to back through Watchtower WP 2/31
Watchtower WP 3/4* → back through Watchtower WP 2/31 is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 2/31 to back through Fortlet Adolfseck
back through Watchtower WP 2/31 → back through Fortlet Adolfseck is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fortlet Adolfseck to back through Watchtower WP 3/23*
back through Fortlet Adolfseck → back through Watchtower WP 3/23* is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 3/23* to Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the
back through Watchtower WP 3/23* → Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.