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Verulamium, was the third largest city in Roman Britain and the museum, Verulamium, stands on the site of the Roman town. It is a museum of everyday life in Roman Britain, containing recreated Roman rooms, some amazing mosaics and several intriguing objects - as well as the Sandridge Hoard - a collection of 159 gold Roman coins discovered nearby in 2012.
St Albans
The Roman theatre at Verulamium is unique in Britain, because it's a theatre with a stage, rather than an amphitheatre. It was built in about 140AD, later redeveloped and by the 4th century it is estimated it could seat an audience of some 2,000. Close to the ruins are the foundations of shops and a temple. There is not a great deal to see, but it is opposite the Roman Museum - so park near the latter and combine the two.
Part of the Gorhambury Estate.
St Albans
Chanctonbury Ring is an Iron Age hillfort, constructed c6-400BC, though actually in use since Neolithic times. It was probably not a fort, nor ever occupied, but more likely a religious site or, possibly, animal enclosure. 2 Romano-British temples have been found on the hill (they are not visible). In 1760, Charles Goring of nearby Wiston House planted a ring of beech trees around the hill; these, or their descendents, are still there. The hill was used by the army during WW2. There are several other prehistoric sites nearby. Chanctonbury also has a number of legends associated with it - most notably variations of the story that the Devil appears if running seven times anti-clockwise (or backwards) round the hill, alleged links with witchcraft (young ladies sleeping out on the hill are more likely to conceive), UFOs as well as suggestions that the hill is haunted and claims that spending the night on it is an unpleasant experience. Nonetheless, there are great views from the top.
Steyning
Most of the objects in the Senhouse Roman Museum come from the adjacent Roman fort at Maryport (Alavna) and the civil settlement attached to it. The museum displays the largest group of Roman military altar stones and inscriptions from any site in Britain and unique examples of Romano-British religious sculpture. Was Roman Maryport a religious centre?
The collection was begun by the Senhouse family in the 1570s, is the oldest in the country, and is of international importance. The museum is located in what was a Royal Naval Artillery Volunteer Drill Hall built in 1885.
Sea Brows
Maryport
Though substantial in their day, not much remains of the Roman baths at Ravenglass, but the ruins are amongst the tallest Roman structures surviving in Britain. The bath house served a nearby fort which guarded the important Roman port.
Follow a tarmac track just outside Ravenglass.
Hardknott Roman Fort was built in the 2nd century AD, probably by men of the 4th Cohort of Dalmatia, to protect the trade route across the fells to the vital port of Ravenglass. The ruins, which consist of well-marked layouts of most of the principal buildings and bath house, are in a truly dramatic spot. Access is not for the faint-hearted, whether by foot or road. If the latter, the drive through Wrynose Pass onto Hardknott is one of the best in the Lake District; also accessible from the Duddon Valley or Eskdale. The views can be fabulous.
The post code is a guide only. You will need a map and are also advised to check the weather. If driving, ensure your car has plenty of fuel and a good clutch. The roads are very steep and single-track with passing places. Take refreshments with you and a waterproof coat, even if in a car. Allow sufficient time - especially if planning a circular route. There is very limited parking by the fort and there are no facilities whatsoever.
Eskdale
Richborough, which the Romans called Rutupiae, is a fascinating, multi-layered, site. Now 2 miles inland, 2,000 years ago it was on the coast where Emperor Claudius’s invading army landed in 43AD. They built a defensive barrier on the site, which then became a supply base, developing into a significant port, town and major point of entry into Britain. A monumental marble-clad arch was built (welcome to Britain!), the foundations of which can still be seen at the start of Watling Street – the Roman road that went through London all the way to the West Midlands. Nearby is the site of the amphitheatre, which could accommodate an audience of up to 5,000 people. The town was large – extending far beyond the existing visible remains of a stone-walled fort, built in the 3rd century as part of the defences of the ‘Saxon Shore’, guarding Britain against the Germanic pirates whose ancestors eventually settled and became the English. Richborough continued to be important right to the very end of the Roman occupation, probably well into the 5th century. The crumbled ruins, excavated outlines (including that of an Anglo-Saxon church) take some understanding, but it is an absolutely intriguing place to visit – right at the heart of Britain’s story.
A concrete memorial near the beach between Deal and Walmer commemorates the landing of Julius Caesar and his invading army in 55BC, which allegedly took place nearby. However, the location of this great event, and Caesar’s more serious landing the following year, 54BC, is disputed. It is suggested that Caesar, who described his landing in graphic detail, actually came ashore a little further north, in Pegwell Bay. This, claims the experts, more accurately fits the coastal geography of 2,000 years ago. The remains of a Roman fort have also been uncovered near Pegwell Bay, now inland but close to where the coast would have been twenty centuries ago. Maybe the Romans landed at Deal first and Pegwell Bay later.
Anyway, we can still stand by the Deal-Walmer memorial and contemplate the Romans offshore, fearfully hesitant to get stuck into the screaming woad-covered Britons waiting for them on the shingle beach – until the eagle-bearer of the X Legion leaped from his ship and lead to way to battle – and victory.
At school, we used to recite, “Julius Caesar, the Roman geezer, conquered Britain with a lemon squeezer.” Just thought I’d mention it.
Walmer
Deal
Discovered during excavation work for the new Guildhall Art Gallery, the remains of London's Roman Amphitheatre date from the 2nd century AD. It had a capacity for an audience of 7,000 watching animal fights, executions and gladiatorial contests. The ruins of the eastern entrance, including sections of wooden drains, are displayed in an innovative way, underneath the art gallery - which is where you need to enter to see the amphitheatre.
The Antonine Wall has World Heritage status alongside Hadrian's Wall to the south. It was built in 140 AD on the orders of Hadrian’s successor, Emperor Antoninus Pius. It ran 37 miles (60km) from Old Kilpatrick in the west to near Bo’ness in the east and formed the north-west frontier of the Roman Empire, but was abandoned after 20 years and the frontier shifted back south to Hadrian’s Wall. Unlike the latter, the Antonine Wall was constructed mostly out of layers of turf. These ramparts reached a height of almost 10 feet (3 m). In front, to the north, ran an enormous ditch, up to 16 feet (5 m) deep. Behind the wall ran a road to enable the movement of troops and supplies. There were 17 manned forts along the wall, plus additional ‘fortlets’. The Antonine Wall website calls it “the biggest, most awe-inspiring building project the people of Scotland had ever seen” – which is true but for the fact that Scotland did not exist at the time. There are several stretches of the wall that can be seen today – one of the best is at Rough Castle (address below). See the World Heritage website for details of all locations. The largest collection of Antonine Wall artefacts is held by the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.
Bonnybridge
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