e2e.bike

Cycling adventures across Yorkshire, Britain and beyond

Menu
  • End to Ends
    • Britain
    • Ireland
    • France
    • Spain
    • Portugal
    • Belgium
    • Netherlands
    • Luxembourg
    • Denmark
    • Austria
    • Switzerland
    • Czechia
    • Slovakia
    • Poland
    • Latvia
    • Cuba
    • Sri Lanka
    • Taiwan
    • Isle of Man
    • Faroes
    • Liechtenstein
  • Coast to Coasts
  • Yorkshire Ridings
  • Others
  • Writings
Menu
← PreviousNext →

Blackstone Edge: Original Roman Road?

Posted on 14 September 20062 April 2021 by Rob Ainsley

Another of Britain’s unconvincing candidates for ‘Original Roman Road surface’. Blackpool Bridge and Wade’s Causeway are the others. Blackstone Edge is up in the Pennines, near the highest point of the M62 as it vaults the moors. It’s a bridleway, so is cyclable, but the stones can be slippery even in dry weather.

It’s just very inconvenient to get to, and not part of any obvious ride. Plus it really requires a full-suspension mountain bike. It’s just south of the A58 west from Halifax; a couple of kilometres east of Blackstone Edge Reservoir, a bridleway branches south-west off the main road, onto Rishworth Moor. This takes you right onto the old Roman Road surface: a rocky, cobbled, astonishingly well-preserved track between here and where the Pennine Way crosses, half a mile or so up the hill.

But is it Roman? Some historians dispute the age of the roadtop itself. Short of finding some revelatory dating device, such as graffiti saying Romanes eunt domus (‘Romans go home’), we’ll never know for sure.

But the atmosphere – and the bleak scenic sweep – isn’t in doubt. The surface sports a long, deep-worn central groove. It looks like a drainage channel, but is thought to be a braking device for the carts of old: they would stick a wooden pole down into the groove to stop the chariot hurtling out of control. The horses did not have V-brakes.

At the top of the hill, the Pennine Way crosses and the bridleway stops; the footpath right lets you wheel your bike back to the A58 and the White House pub.

Previous
←   Mam Tor: The shivering mountain bike road
Next
Rosedale Chimney Bank: The tarmac elevator →

You are here

e2e.bike > Other > Route research > Blackstone Edge: Original Roman Road?

Recent Posts

  • Germany 6: Würzburg to Kothen 11 September 2025
  • Germany 5: Rothenburg ob der Tauber to Würzburg 10 September 2025
  • Germany 4: Dinkelsbühl to Rothenburg ob der Tauber 9 September 2025

Random Posts

  • Britain 15: Hathersage to Derby28 May 2010
    I was staying at Mark’s last night, which means an early start …
  • Hornsea: Mere bagatelle3 April 2021
    Hornsea Mere is Yorkshire’s biggest body of water. The great county is …
  • Edinburgh 1: View from the Seat14 September 2019
    Cycle route research round Edinburgh, one of my favourite Scottish capitals.

Search e2e.bike

Find me

        
Facebook • Bluesky • Linked In • Email
© 2025 e2e.bike | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme