Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th and Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th

   There is a stretch of the Roman frontier in southern Germany that runs almost perfectly straight for about eighty kilometres, from Walldürn in the Odenwald to near Welzheim in the Swabian-Franconian Forest, ignoring hills and valleys alike, as if the surveyors had simply drawn a line on a map. The watchtowers numbered WP 9/101 to 9/131 stand near the southern end of that line, in the forests around Kaisersbach and Welzheim, where the Limes finally turns.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th is where the day begins. Next is Building remains of south of Pfahlheim.

2. 2. Building remains of south of Pfahlheim

   The name of the village gives the game away. Pfahlheim, a part of Ellwangen in the Ostalb, takes its name from the Pfahl, the stake line, which is what generations of farmers called the Roman frontier that ran through their fields. Here, at the edge of what is now Baden-Württemberg, the Upper German Limes and the Raetian Limes met, and the building remains south of the village are one of many small components of the UNESCO-listed Upper German-Raetian Limes. The frontier ran almost dead straight across this country for long distances, ignoring hills and streams in a way that still baffles people. There is very little to see on the ground today, perhaps a low bank or a signboard, but the line can be traced by eye if you know where to look.

   Read the complete Building remains of south of Pfahlheim write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Building remains of south of Pfahlheim comes up about 65 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the.

3. 3. Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the

   Here the frontier changes character. West of the Franconian lakes the Romans built the Raetian Limes not as a palisade but, in its final form, as a stone wall, a metre or so thick and perhaps three high, running across Middle Franconia toward the Danube. Medieval villagers who found its rubble in their fields had no idea who had built it and called it the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, which tells you how thoroughly the empire had been forgotten. The watchtowers numbered in this section sat along that wall in the farmland around Pfofeld and Gunzenhausen, close to where the line crosses the Altmühl valley.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 122 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the. Next is back through Building remains of south of Pfahlheim.

4. 4. back through Building remains of south of Pfahlheim

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Building remains of south of Pfahlheim write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Building remains of south of Pfahlheim, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th.

5. 5. Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Watchtowers WP 9/101 to 9/131 including th. That is the ride.