Written Rock of Gelt: Roman quarry inscrip and Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Written Rock of Gelt: Roman quarry inscrip

   Beside the river Gelt, a small stream that runs through a wooded sandstone gorge east of Carlisle, a smooth face of rock bears an inscription cut by Roman soldiers some eighteen centuries ago. This is the Written Rock of Gelt. It marks the quarry where legionaries cut stone for the western part of Hadrian's Wall, and it records their work, with names and dates, in neat Latin letters that are still readable though weathered by the rain.

   Read the complete Written Rock of Gelt: Roman quarry inscrip write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Written Rock of Gelt: Roman quarry inscrip is where the day begins. Next is Bank Mill tower 15a.

2. 2. Bank Mill tower 15a

   Hadrian's Wall did not stop at the sea. West of Bowness, the Romans continued their frontier along the Cumbrian coast with a chain of milefortlets and watchtowers, guarding against raiders who might sail across the Solway Firth. Bank Mill tower 15a is one of those coastal towers, set on the low ground near Silloth, and its remains are slight, though the logic is clear: from here, a sentry could see the whole estuary, and a signal could pass quickly along the line. The coast defences belong to the same UNESCO frontier listing as the wall itself.

   Read the complete Bank Mill tower 15a write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Bank Mill tower 15a comes up about 60 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house.

3. 3. Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house

   Walls Castle is the odd name for a Roman bath house, and the building still stands to a height of about four metres, one of the tallest Roman structures in northern England. It stood outside the fort of Glannoventa at Ravenglass, a harbour station at the meeting of three rivers, the Irt, the Mite and the Esk, and in the dry shelter of the dunes it has survived because its walls were thick and well built. You can walk around it on a short path from the village, and see niches and a doorway in the thick walls. The fort itself lies mostly under farmland and the railway.

   Read the complete Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 124 km into the recorded legs you reach Ravenglass Roman fort bath-house. Next is back through Bank Mill tower 15a.

4. 4. back through Bank Mill tower 15a

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Bank Mill tower 15a write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Bank Mill tower 15a, late in the day. Next is Written Rock of Gelt: Roman quarry inscrip.

5. 5. Written Rock of Gelt: Roman quarry inscrip

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Written Rock of Gelt: Roman quarry inscrip write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Written Rock of Gelt: Roman quarry inscrip. That is the ride.