The East Roman and Kielder Loop

Tourist Attractions:

Chesters, Brocolitia, Once Brewed, Housesteads, Roman Camps, Roman Fort, , Roman Army Museum, Poltross Burn Milecastle, Birdoswald, Kielder Water Forest Centre, Kielder Water Experience, Otterburn Battle field, Cragside House, Wallington Hall.

Start & Finish: Rothbury

Approximate Distance: 125Miles

Route Overview

Starting out from Rothbury, the East Roman Loop heads over the hills into Chollerford, where it joins the old roman road, the B6318. This road runs straight alongside Hadrian’s Wall and has a number of places to stop and sample the history of the area. This includes a number of Roman forts, the Roman Army Museum and a chance to walk on Hadrian’s Wall itself. A sixteen-mile run up Liddesdale on the five-star B6357 is next on the agenda. The route then takes a right turn towards Kielder water and forest, home of some of the most famous rally stages in the UK. In fact the road through the forest and the subsequent rollercoaster of a section that runs alongside a babbling stream perfectly reflect the rally heritage of the area. After the sweeping roads alongside Kielder water itself, the route then tracks the North Tyne to Bellingham, before taking a left and crossing the hills up to Otterburn. The Loop finishes with a dash back to Rothbury across a typical Northumberland road, the B6341, which snakes for fourteen miles or so alongside some imposing rocky hillsides.

Route Directions:

At	Rothbury					Follow	signpost	B6342 Hexham
At the	A696	after	17	miles on the	B6342	Cross the Intersection	signpost	B6342 Hexham
At the	A68	after	8	miles on the	B6342	Cross the Intersection	signpost	A6079 Hexham
In	Low Brunton/B6318	after	3.5	miles on the	B6079	Turn Right	signpost	B6320 Otterburn
		after	0.5	miles on the	B6320/B6318	Turn Left at roundabout	signpost	B6318 Carlisle, Hadrian's Wall
		after	35	miles on the	B6318	Turn Right	signpost	B6357 Newcastleton
		after	16.5	miles on the	B6357	Turn Right	signpost	Kielder Water
At the	Kielder Water Experience Centre	after	12	miles on the	Unmarked Roads	Follow	signposts to	Bellingham
At	Bellingham	after	8	miles on the	Unmarked Roads	Turn Left	signpost	B6320 Otterburn
At the	A68	after	5	miles on the	B6320	Cross the Intersection	signpost	B6320 Otterburn
In	Otterburn	after	1	mile on the	B6320	Turn Right	signpost	A696 Newcastle Upon Tyne
		after	1	mile on the	A696	Turn Left	signpost	B6341 Rothbury, Elsdon
End at	Rothbury	after	14	miles on the	B6341

List of Recomended Drives:
The Northumberland Coast and the Cheviot Valleys
The Tweed, the Moorfoot Hills, and the Lammermuir Hills
The Tweed and the Cheviots
The Kelso Monster (and the Monster’s tail)
The East Roman and Kielder Loop
The West Roman and Kielder Water Loop
The Extended Roman and Kielder Loop
Index of all roads tested
Complete Road Index
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