Willowford Roman temporary camp and Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
65 km
Riding-time estimate
1 h 10
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Greenhead it runs 65 km to Greenhead; allow about 1 h 10 of riding. The stops in between: Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne, Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel and back through Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Willowford Roman temporary camp
Rivers move, and the Irthing at Willowford proves it. When the Romans built the Wall here, they carried it across the river on a bridge, and the massive stone abutment of that bridge survives on the east bank, now well away from the water, because the river has shifted west over the centuries. Nearby, the earthwork outline of a Roman temporary camp, one of many marching camps built by units on campaign or on construction duty, lies in the fields. Temporary camps were ramparts of turf and ditches thrown up for a few nights or weeks, and their faint shapes are often best seen from the air or in low winter light.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Willowford Roman temporary camp is where the day begins. Next is Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne.
2. Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne
The Cam Beck is a small stream that tumbles out of the hills and runs down towards the Irthing, and the Wall crosses it near Banks, in a stretch where the line is still very clear. Here the Wall's visible remains run along a ridge, with the green bank of the Vallum behind, the long ditch that the Romans dug on the south side to mark the military zone. The label gives the place as the stretch between the Cam Beck and Newtown, in the east of Cumbria, and the walk there is among the easiest on the whole line, with open fields and distant views of the Pennines. The stone Wall was built on a narrower foundation here than in the east, and a turf Wall once stood alongside it.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne comes up about 18 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel.
3. Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Carlisle was a Roman town before it was an English one. Luguvalium grew beside the Eden, and just across the river at Stanwix stood the largest fort on Hadrian's Wall, home to a cavalry regiment of a thousand men. The wall itself ran along the north side of today's city, and though houses and roads cover it, its line can be traced by plaques and fragments, and the wall and its Vallum are part of the UNESCO listing. A stretch of the ditch and the foundations of milecastles are visible beyond the suburbs.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 32 km into the recorded legs you reach Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel. Next is back through Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne.
4. back through Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Willowford Roman temporary camp. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Willowford Roman temporary camp to Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne
Willowford Roman temporary camp → Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne to Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel
Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne → Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel to back through Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne
Hadrian's Wall and vallum between the fiel → back through Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne is 15 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne to Willowford Roman temporary camp
back through Hadrian's Wall between the Cam Beck and Ne → Willowford Roman temporary camp is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.