Slitherine

Hi everyone

I'm trying to plan a day out for the children in the coming months.

Does anyone know of a good roman fort within driving distance of Yorkshire?

Also I heard there was a recreation of a roman fort but have been unable to locate it.

Thanks for any help.

Rob

Nobody has managed to bring cviilisation to Yorkshire. Even the Romans.

You have Hadrians Wall, lots of forts, about 2 hours away depending which part of Yorkshire.

Hi Phil, unsure if you know but I'm in Leeds/Bradford so West Yorkshire.

Rob

About 2 and a half hours to Hexham where they have a fort and a big bit of wall. Been done up a bit since when I was last there. Centurian was a tank.

I went to Vindolana and Halsteads (Hexham) earlier this year. The Roman army museum is OK too

http://www.vindolanda.com/

chester has a small ampitheatre

boroughbridge has some mounds as does malton

I visited both Housesteads and Vindolanda back in 1995 and both were worth the visit then and not too far apart. From a quick glance at web sites, looks like both are probably even better now.

Chris

Chris, I went in 2002. Housesteads is really worth the look and the Vindolanda museum is probably the best I have ever been to (but then I like Romans...) however it is a long drive from West Yorks and the A1 can get quite busy.

timmy1 wrote:Chris, I went in 2002. Housesteads is really worth the look and the Vindolanda museum is probably the best I have ever been to (but then I like Romans...) however it is a long drive from West Yorks and the A1 can get quite busy.

Being from the the US, I'm not really willing to call that a long drive, even by New England standards .

Chris

Robert241167 wrote:Hi everyone

I'm trying to plan a day out for the children in the coming months.

Does anyone know of a good roman fort within driving distance of Yorkshire?

Also I heard there was a recreation of a roman fort but have been unable to locate it.

Thanks for any help.

Rob

The NorthEast is stuffed full of history.

The Roman Fort (built by a mate Charlie Westencraft (hope I spelt his name right) professional historian and longtime wargamer) is called Arbeia - its in South Shields a picturesque sea port at the mouth of the River Tyne
But truthfully SS has a great long sandy beach, amusement arcades, drinking holes, chip shops and is brill in good weather.
Within a mile or two there is the original St Bedes (the English equivalent of St Patrick) church for the religiously minded.
Over the river in North Tyneside (accessible by Ferry) a fully restored Roman Bath house at the equally historic Wallsend.
So named because its where the wall ended - nowt but common sense North of Watford eh.
And there is the now old New Castle in Newcastle which is good for shopping and has the advantage of facing south to Gateshead - Angel, Sage, Baltic and Winking Eye Millennium Bridge which I worked on.

There is a much better castle at Bamburgh, north of Sea Houses, on the edge of another truely wonderful sandy beach.
Also close to Holy Island. But these would add significantly to your travel time!
Many smaller sites spread around which can be quite interesting (another friend has the foundations of a small roman villa and a shed with a fully kitted out Legionaire in his back garden at Ebchester) but this is only accessible by appointment.

Loads of Peel Towers across North Northumberland (Border Reivers), and Alnick Castle (of Hogwarts and War of the Roses fame (Percy's /Nevilles etc)

Raby Castle in Durham (less mileage) is also worth a visit.

I know I have strayed from your main query (Roman stuff) but for a day out Beamish is also good value, although absolutely about the industrial revolution. The hand made sweets and Beamish Ale are good too!

And no I don't work for the Northumbria Tourist Board but I'm sure they would be more than helpful to sort out the details of a visit - informing you of opening times etc.

bertalucci wrote:The NorthEast is stuffed full of history.

The Roman Fort (built by a mate Charlie Westencraft (hope I spelt his name right) professional historian and longtime wargamer) is called Arbeia - its in South Shields a picturesque sea port at the mouth of the River Tyne
But truthfully SS has a great long sandy beach, amusement arcades, drinking holes, chip shops and is brill in good weather.
Within a mile or two there is the original St Bedes (the English equivalent of St Patrick) church for the religiously minded.
Over the river in North Tyneside (accessible by Ferry) a fully restored Roman Bath house at the equally historic Wallsend.
So named because its where the wall ended - nowt but common sense North of Watford eh.
And there is the now old New Castle in Newcastle which is good for shopping and has the advantage of facing south to Gateshead - Angel, Sage, Baltic and Winking Eye Millennium Bridge which I worked on.

There is a much better castle at Bamburgh, north of Sea Houses, on the edge of another truely wonderful sandy beach.
Also close to Holy Island. But these would add significantly to your travel time!
Many smaller sites spread around which can be quite interesting (another friend has the foundations of a small roman villa and a shed with a fully kitted out Legionaire in his back garden at Ebchester) but this is only accessible by appointment.

Loads of Peel Towers across North Northumberland (Border Reivers), and Alnick Castle (of Hogwarts and War of the Roses fame (Percy's /Nevilles etc)

Raby Castle in Durham (less mileage) is also worth a visit.

I know I have strayed from your main query (Roman stuff) but for a day out Beamish is also good value, although absolutely about the industrial revolution. The hand made sweets and Beamish Ale are good too!

And no I don't work for the Northumbria Tourist Board but I'm sure they would be more than helpful to sort out the details of a visit - informing you of opening times etc.

You're making me feel homesick, lived in Newcastle for 9 years before moving back south and still think of Tyneside as home more than down here.

But yes, all of that is worth seeing but not in a day trip

Housesteads and Vindolanda are perfect for a day out though.

Irmin wrote:

bertalucci wrote:The NorthEast is stuffed full of history.

The Roman Fort (built by a mate Charlie Westencraft (hope I spelt his name right) professional historian and longtime wargamer) is called Arbeia - its in South Shields a picturesque sea port at the mouth of the River Tyne
But truthfully SS has a great long sandy beach, amusement arcades, drinking holes, chip shops and is brill in good weather.
Within a mile or two there is the original St Bedes (the English equivalent of St Patrick) church for the religiously minded.
Over the river in North Tyneside (accessible by Ferry) a fully restored Roman Bath house at the equally historic Wallsend.
So named because its where the wall ended - nowt but common sense North of Watford eh.
And there is the now old New Castle in Newcastle which is good for shopping and has the advantage of facing south to Gateshead - Angel, Sage, Baltic and Winking Eye Millennium Bridge which I worked on.

There is a much better castle at Bamburgh, north of Sea Houses, on the edge of another truely wonderful sandy beach.
Also close to Holy Island. But these would add significantly to your travel time!
Many smaller sites spread around which can be quite interesting (another friend has the foundations of a small roman villa and a shed with a fully kitted out Legionaire in his back garden at Ebchester) but this is only accessible by appointment.

Loads of Peel Towers across North Northumberland (Border Reivers), and Alnick Castle (of Hogwarts and War of the Roses fame (Percy's /Nevilles etc)

Raby Castle in Durham (less mileage) is also worth a visit.

I know I have strayed from your main query (Roman stuff) but for a day out Beamish is also good value, although absolutely about the industrial revolution. The hand made sweets and Beamish Ale are good too!

And no I don't work for the Northumbria Tourist Board but I'm sure they would be more than helpful to sort out the details of a visit - informing you of opening times etc.

You're making me feel homesick, lived in Newcastle for 9 years before moving back south and still think of Tyneside as home more than down here.

But yes, all of that is worth seeing but not in a day trip

Housesteads and Vindolanda are perfect for a day out though.

Sorry - I didn't mean to infer that you could get round these in a day.

batesmotel wrote:

timmy1 wrote:Chris, I went in 2002. Housesteads is really worth the look and the Vindolanda museum is probably the best I have ever been to (but then I like Romans...) however it is a long drive from West Yorks and the A1 can get quite busy.

Being from the the US, I'm not really willing to call that a long drive, even by New England standards .

Chris

An Englishman is someone who considers 100 miles to be a long way, an American is someone who considers 100 years to be a long time.

Another roman fort to consider is South Shield

http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/arbeia/

also not far from there is Bede World at Jarrow which has Anglo Saxon "village", and at Wallsend there are Roman Bath house to look around


Leslie

Rob

Have a look here, it will show where all the known fort sites are.

http://www.roman-britain.org/cgi-bin/uk ... pl?Class=M

Of all the stuff mentioned so far I agree that the NE is full of forts, due to the proximity of Hadrians wall, and the restorations are v.good.
Also as a consideration, and possibly with otherareas to visit, you may also consider "Hardknot" fort in cumbria, its location is stunning and the wall circuit is complete. It is however a bit remote and not easy to get to if you are on public transport.

Spike