Wall (Letocetum) Roman Town
Yesterday, with the weather being dry, bright and positively spring like, I decided it was about time, and long overdue for my first proper jangle of the year. So, after 'chucking a lovely' from work I donned myself with a helmet, leathers, gloves and a full tank of fuel and cruised the grand total of five miles (Yes you did read that right) to Letocetum, known nowadays as Wall.
It's strange how I've lived around here most of my life yet never bothered to visit this sizeable chunk of Roman rubble until now. Or is it strange? Here's one for you... I love Burger King, yet when there was a BK restaurant five minutes from my house I never bothered eating there. Come to think about it, nor did anyone else, which is probably why it eventually closed down. Anyway, I digress. Wall was a small Roman town on Watling Street (A5), which was the principal road from London to Wroxeter, near present-day Shrewsbury. Archaeologists have managed to unearth, surprise surprise, a bathhouse and what was once a large, probably two storey building with a courtyard that was likely to have been some kind of hostel for travellers; this, according to the plaque was called a Mansio.
The grassy area was once the hot room in the bathhouse
More of the bathhouse complex
I can't remember what this bit was......
.....Nor this bit
The Mansio courtyard
The Mansio, or rather what's left of it
The site is managed by the National Trust and is totally free to enter. It also has a museum but it was closed when I was there.
In accordance with me getting my bike out the garage it eventually decided to rain when I was on my way home. Luckily for me though, I managed to find shelter in a drinking establishment until things brightened up a bit.
6 comments:
thats more like it... a pile of rubbish .... and some run down old buildings !
3 cigarettes and a pint! That was one heavy April shower!
Those Romans left their rubbish all over the place, obviously thats where fly tipping began.
Loz - I don't think anybody actually ran over the buildings.
Ellie - The empty pint glass and the 3 cigarettes had nothing to do with me, but I decided to keep them in the shot because when we look back at that picture in ten years time, we'll all be saying "Gosh, do you remember the days when we were allowed to drink pints of beer and smoke outdoors. Ah the good old days before dictatorship totally ruined the country and the lives of those who live there".
I know people who live less than 100 miles from Niagra Falls and have never been. Weird, ain't it?
Miss U - It is a weird thing. It happens all the time. Have you ever been to Cheddar Gorge?
Neil - Sounds great in theory but I have difficulty pulling a twenty mile an hour wheelie let alone one in excess of three figures. I don't think the scanty clad maidens would be too impressed with that one.
Good words.
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