Why this ride
334 km from Lich to Lich, about 4 h 51 of riding. On the way it passes Fortlet Lochmühle, Watchtower WP 3/23*, Watchtower WP 2/31 and Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 and Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 334 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 51
- 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
Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 → Fortlet Lochmühle
This part of the ride is 36 km of Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 → Fortlet Lochmühle.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 36 km
Moselle Wine Route
For about 35 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 35 km
- Named road
- Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57
The Wetterau is the broad, fertile plain north of Frankfurt, between the Taunus and the Vogelsberg, and the Romans considered it so valuable that they bent their frontier around it to include it in the empire. The Limes ran along the northern edge of the plain, and the watchtowers numbered WP 4/53 to 4/57, near the town of Lich, stood on this section, part of the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes listed by UNESCO in 2005. Like most watchtowers, they survive only as mounds or traces in the fields and forest, but the line of the frontier can be followed on foot or by bicycle.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 is where the day begins. Next is Fortlet Lochmühle.
2. Fortlet Lochmühle
The Lochmühle is a small fortlet on the Limes in the Taunus, near Wehrheim and the famous Saalburg, and it guarded a spot where the frontier crossed the valley of the Erlenbach stream. Fortlets like this were small outposts, housing a handful of soldiers who watched the border and controlled traffic, and they formed a link between the watchtowers and the larger forts. Its remains are modest, but the location, in a quiet valley surrounded by forest, has a peaceful charm. The name comes from a nearby mill, now a popular leisure park for families with play areas and farm animals.
Read the complete Fortlet Lochmühle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fortlet Lochmühle comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 3/23*.
3. 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
about 97 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 3/23*. 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 Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe.
5. 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 sits at 142 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 207 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Watchtower WP 3/23*.
7. 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
about 258 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Watchtower WP 3/23*. Next is back through Fortlet Lochmühle.
8. back through Fortlet Lochmühle
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fortlet Lochmühle write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fortlet Lochmühle, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57.
9. Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 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 334 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 to Fortlet Lochmühle
Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 → Fortlet Lochmühle is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlet Lochmühle to Watchtower WP 3/23*
Fortlet Lochmühle → Watchtower WP 3/23* is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 3/23* to Watchtower WP 2/31
Watchtower WP 3/23* → Watchtower WP 2/31 is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 2/31 to Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe
Watchtower WP 2/31 → Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe to back through Watchtower WP 2/31
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbe → back through Watchtower WP 2/31 is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 2/31 to back through Watchtower WP 3/23*
back through Watchtower WP 2/31 → back through Watchtower WP 3/23* is 51 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 3/23* to back through Fortlet Lochmühle
back through Watchtower WP 3/23* → back through Fortlet Lochmühle is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fortlet Lochmühle to Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57
back through Fortlet Lochmühle → Watchtowers WP 4/53 to 4/57 is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.