A new coast-to-coast cycleway was launched this week along the route of Hadrian's Wall.

More than 100 cyclists were expected to be corralled for 'photo opportunities' to mark the opening of the 120-mile route from Silloth in Cumbria to South Shields in Tyne and Wear.

So perhaps this week wasn't the perfect moment to enjoy the peace and freedom of two wheels on the Sustrans-developed way. The riders should have cleared the legions of mock centurions and gladiators due to greet them at Wallsend and grough readers should now be safe tackling the glories of England's top northern piece of Roman civil engineering.

The Hadrian's Cycleway (did he really bring his bike over here?) forms Route 72 of the National Cycle Network and uses country lanes and 'quiet roads' along with a few paths to work its way from the Cumbrian coast eastwards towards the North Sea, where you have the choice of sticking to the northern bank of the Tyne to Tynemouth or heading south to South Shields.

The Sustrans website has some detail of the route but, sadly, the link to the Hadrian's Cycleway website is broken, so you may be forced to fork out £5.99 for the map, available from Sustrans.