Why this ride
From Lich it runs 327 km to Lich; allow about 4 h 49 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl, Fortlet Lochmühle, Watchtower WP 3/23* and Watchtower WP 2/31. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the and Watchtower WP 2/31
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 327 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 49
- 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 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl → Fortlet Lochmühle
The ride follows Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl → Fortlet Lochmühle for 32 km.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 32 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
The Wetterau is a broad, fertile basin north of Frankfurt, one of the best farming landscapes in Hesse, and the Romans fenced it with a frontier that ran in a wide arc through the grain fields. This group of watchtowers, with its numbers running from 4/59 to 4/71, lies near Hungen and Lich on the eastern side, where the plain begins to rise toward the Vogelsberg. Close by stands the Eichkopf fortlet, and a few kilometres to the north the ruins of the big fort at Arnsburg lie beside the remains of a Cistercian abbey, a double dose of history under tall trees.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 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 4/59 to 4/71 including the is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl.
2. Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl
Out here on the eastern rim of the Wetterau, between Altenstadt, Hammersbach and the Büdingen forest, the Roman frontier did something unusual. Having come over the Taunus and swung north around the fertile plain, the Limes turned and ran almost due south towards the Main, enclosing the Wetterau like a hand cupped around something precious. The towers numbered WP 4/82 to 5/8, along with small fortlets, guarded this eastern flank, and their remains lie in fields and woodland edges where only a shallow bank or a marker stone gives them away.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fortlet Lochmühle.
3. 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
about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Fortlet Lochmühle. Next is Watchtower WP 3/23*.
4. 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*, about halfway. Next is Watchtower WP 2/31.
5. 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 sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtower WP 3/23*.
6. 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* comes up about 220 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Fortlet Lochmühle.
7. 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
about 258 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Fortlet Lochmühle. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl.
8. back through Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the.
9. Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 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 327 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the to Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl
Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the → Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl to Fortlet Lochmühle
Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl → Fortlet Lochmühle is 32 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 back through Watchtower WP 3/23*
Watchtower WP 2/31 → back through Watchtower WP 3/23* is 52 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 back through Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl
back through Fortlet Lochmühle → back through Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl to Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
back through Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl → Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.