Veni vidi vici

28 Jan 2024 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in London trips, UK Roman Amphitheatre Quest Tags: , , , , , , ,

My final three arena visits were solo trips. I travelled to the land of my grandfather for the two amphitheatres located in Wales. The Romans moved into this fabulous part of the UK around 48 ACE, but it wasn’t called Wales then, just a part of Britannia Major. My first port of call was Carmarthen in the South West of the country, known in Roman times as Movidurium, it’s possibly the arena that’s furthest west from Rome. Only half of the original structure is visible nowadays, but built in the 2nd century ACE it was an elliptical shape with the capacity for 4500 – 5000 spectators.

After a little wander around I made my way back east towards Newport to visit a little town called Caerleon, this was the home of the 2nd Augustan legion and 5000 soldiers were based there. The site named Isca Augusta had a very impressive amphitheatre, built around 90 ACE and big enough for 6000 spectators. I have to say up to that point it was the best preserved arena I had visited, there were lots of steps, tunnels and archways to explore, it’s the most complete amphitheatre in the UK. After a good look around I wandered down to the remains of the legionnaires barracks. There is a museum and remains of the Roman baths, unfortunately I left it too late to visit so I will definitely return for a proper look.

For the very last amphitheatre on my list I headed back to London where I based myself for my visit to St Albans. When I first planned my quest I wasn’t going to go there as the arena isn’t strictly an amphitheatre, as it has a stage at one end. But it is the only one of it’s kind in the UK so it’s very worthy of a visit. Just a 20 minute train journey from London the Roman town of Verulamium lies in the centre of beautiful St Albans. The arena was built around 140 ACE and it now lies in the Gorhambury Estate, so it was the only site I needed to pay to see, but it was worth the very small fee. It’s position is alongside the famous Watling Street that ran from Londinium to Deva Victrix, ( London to Chester), and it had a capacity of 7000 spectators. After a wander around I also checked out the hypocaust with a beautiful mosaic and a mooch around the museum with a group of very unruly school children and their harassed teachers.

So that is my UK Roman amphitheatre quest finished and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I love how reading a random post can generate a planned trek around my country to discover the history but also incorporate it into mini breaks with friends and family.

Stay tuned to discover what my next quest will be …

Still in the footsteps of gladiators

25 Jan 2024 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in London trips, UK Roman Amphitheatre Quest Tags: , , , , , , ,

I visited the next three amphitheatres on my hit list while enjoying mini breaks with family and friends.

On the way to the fabulous Dorset resort of Weymouth, a place full of many happy memories for me and my family, is Dorchester. A delightful town with lots to see and do, it’s roots date back to Roman times when it was known as Durnovaria. In the south of the town lie the Maumbury rings, a Neolithic henge. Around 60 ACE the Romans modified the rings to create an arena, the biggest in the UK, by digging out and flattening the inside and flooring it with chalk and sand. The banks were increased to the height they are as seen today. As my mum and my friend Deb waited in the car I had a bit of a mooch around the amphitheatre before we continued onto Weymouth for a few days in the sun.

Not long before the trip to London to celebrate the 60th birthdays of my friends Bev and Debbie, I read about the underground amphitheatre that was discovered in the Guildhall Yard in 1988 during an archaeological dig to prepare for the new Art Gallery building project. Initially when built in 70 ACE it was a simple wooden structure for the entertainment of the citizens of Londinium, but was upgraded to a more impressive stone arena with the capacity for 6000 people. Unusually it was built within the city walls, remains of the walls can still be visited around the area. We had a wander around the site in the morning before we went in our 1970’s finery to the Mamma Mia party at the O2.

Chester is quite a long way from Bristol for a day out to check out an amphitheatre, but it’s a hop, skip and a jump from Liverpool and that’s where I was staying with my friends Deb and Selena for a couple of days. We had the most amazing time doing all things Beatles, Cilla and Liver birds. On the way home with stopped off at Chester, known as Deva Victrix in Roman times, to cross another arena off my list. It was one of the largest amphitheatres in Roman Britain with a capacity of 8000 – 12000, but only two fifths are now visible to view. It’s still an impressive sight and also there are the lovely Roman gardens to stroll around and admire the beautiful mosaics.

Next stop Movidurium, Isca Augusta and Verularnium … aka Carmarthen, Caerleon and St Albans.

In the footsteps of gladiators

23 Jan 2024 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in UK Roman Amphitheatre Quest Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

As I have already alluded to with many posts in this blog, I am an classical history nut. I love nothing better than wandering ancient ruins and learning about the history. I was having a bit of a mooch around a well known search engine and discovered that there are 10 Roman amphitheatres in the UK according to Heritage Daily.com. Armed with my list, I did my research and made plans to visit each arena, last week I completed my quest.

But before I write about the sites I visited I thought I’d just say a few words about the amphitheatres I didn’t travel to. I live in Bristol in the Southwest so I needed to weigh up if the journey was going to be worth it, to that end I checked out the photos taken and posted by previous visitors.

In Chichester, it’s roman name Noriomagus Reginartum, there is nothing but a field with a gentle bank that outlines where the arena once stood.

Near Margate in Richborough, known in Roman Britain as Rutlipiae or Portus Ritupis, is also essentially a field but this time with a hollow marking the spot where the amphitheatre once was.

Much as I love a good day out, I figured it was a long way to travel to see a field when I had no other reason to visit, so I was content to look at the photos and read a bit more about them online.

My quest began by happenstance well before it was a conscious decision to do so. In January 2018 while on a family get together at my cousin Amelia’s house in Reading, we went on a bracing walk after Sunday lunch and had a wander around the amphitheatre at Silchester. It was built around 60 to 85 ACE when the town was called Callera Atrebatum and was one of the earliest arenas built in Roman Britain. It stood just outside the city walls of a large Roman town with the usual street grid format over 40 hectares. Although I have always been interested in ancient history I never really fully appreciated this look around which is reflected in the rubbish photos I took!

The next theatre that I visited by chance was at Cirencester. My mum and I had been on a lovely day out to Bourton on the Water and on the drive home I didn’t realise that I would be driving past the site. The arena was on my hit list but I hadn’t planned on checking it out on that day. I saw the sign for it and took my chance to cross another arena off the list. Built in the early 2nd century ACE it was one of the largest amphitheatres in Roman Britain. The city was known as Cornium and had a population of over 10000 inhabitants. The remains are massive earthworks but you can clearly see the size of the arena and imagine how it would have looked in it’s former glory.

Next stop Dorchester, London and Chester aka Durnovaria, Londinium and Deva Victrix….

Down memory lane

13 Jan 2024 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

While volunteering at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games I decided to stay outside the city at Stourbridge, partly because I knew it would be very busy in Birmingham, but mostly because I love the Black country. My paternal grandparents and my dad came from this beautiful part of the world, we visited every year staying in Halesowen.

It’s not all work when volunteering in the games and there are a few days off. My first outing on an afternoon off was a hike around the Clent hills, as a child I spent a lot of time bombing around the country lanes in granddad’s mini clubman and running around the hills and woods for hours until it got dark.

On another day off I thought I’d try and find the big sandy area in the middle of Kinver woods, we went there a lot when I was little with a picnic and granddad’s calor gas stove to brew tea on. I decided to walk the two hour trail hoping that I would come across the sandy bit as I couldn’t actually remember exactly where it was. I didn’t find it but what I did discover was Kinver edge and the rock houses. These amazing little houses are dug out of the red sandstone and the earliest settlement dates back to 1777. In the 1861 census, eleven families were registered as living there. Managed now by the National Trust, it’s a fascinating step back in time with a lovely tea room for a pit stop with cake.

I stopped off at Kinver on the way back from Iron Bridge, this is a place I’d never been to and was keen to visit after reading about it. The world’s first cast iron bridge was built in 1779 over the river Severn in Shropshire. This amazing structure spans the Ironbridge gorge and looks spectacular from every angle especially from the riverside café with the most lovely tea cosies.

I never tire of the West Midlands, not just because the claim it has my heart with childhood family memories, but also because there are so many fabulous places to discover and learn about in beautiful countryside.

All for a good cause

08 Jan 2024 Leave a comment

by Carole Gardiner in Uncategorized Tags: , , , , ,

Following the success of my previous medical volunteering adventures at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and the London World Athletics Championships, I decided to give it another go. I was very fortunate to have been selected as a first responder team leader for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 2022.

My base for the games was Birmingham University campus as spectator medical cover for squash, not my first choice for sport but we also covered the hockey at times and were able to see the England women’s team win gold. But for me that’s not what it’s all about, as usual I worked with an amazing team and made lots of new friends.

What was great this time, being only 2 hours from home I had visits from two best friends. Jane got a ticket for the gymnastics, I met her after my shift and we had a bit of food together and a catch up before she got her train back to Bristol. And after holidaying up in the north, George stopped off at Birmingham with her family to check out Ozzy the bull and all the other festivities. I met up with them before one of my shifts for a wander around and a bit of people watching. It was lovely to see them and share my commonwealth experience with them.

This time I also managed to get tickets to watch the gymnastics on two days, the ladies all around finals and day two of the apparatus finals. I’m a massive fan of gymnastics and this is the first time I’d actually watched it live. The atmosphere was amazing and the gymnasts were fantastic, it was definitely money very well spent.

I can’t recommend this type of volunteering enough. It’s a fabulous way to make friends, experience international sporting events for free and you get to keep all the kit!