Written Rock of Gelt: Roman quarry inscrip and Twice Brewed Roman temporary camp

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 Willowford Roman temporary camp.

2. 2. 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.

   Read the complete Willowford Roman temporary camp write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Willowford Roman temporary camp comes up about 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Twice Brewed Roman temporary camp.

3. 3. Twice Brewed Roman temporary camp

   The Twice Brewed inn gives its name to a stretch of Northumberland where the Roman frontier is at its most dramatic. Here the Great Whin Sill, a hard sheet of dark volcanic rock, breaks in a long line of cliffs facing north, and the Wall runs along the very edge of it, rising and falling like a stone roller-coaster. Haltwhistle, five kilometres off, is the nearest town, and Hexham lies a good deal further east.

   Read the complete Twice Brewed Roman temporary camp write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 31 km into the recorded legs you reach Twice Brewed Roman temporary camp. Next is back through Willowford Roman temporary camp.

4. 4. back through Willowford Roman temporary camp

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Willowford Roman temporary camp write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Willowford Roman temporary camp, 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.