Roman Ruins: In Our Backyard

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The snow has cleared and the rain has stopped. Well at least for one day… We are coming into Spring in the UK after all. Since we had great weather we decided to go exploring! When doing some research about our new home I discovered this place is surrounded by some interesting history. I mean all of England is covered in some really neat old history, Roman, Viking, Celtic, and Anglo Saxon to name only a few. As a person who has been obsessed with history for as long as I can remember I’m so excited to get to explore all of this rich and unique antiquity this beautiful country has to offer. My husband had one hike in mind and I wanted a hike that made sure we got to the ruins. Coincidentally enough both of the walks we wanted to take led us to the same place! 

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We trekked across town, through public footpaths that were attached to private property, across boardwalks and mud, up the moors and arrived at the ruins! The fort was quite small and first constructed around 79 AD, making this fort nearly 2,000 years old!! It would have been able to house around 500 soldiers and was used as a base for the soldiers to patrol the Roman-made road from York to Chester. When it was eventually abandoned the Romans made sure to damage it so it wouldn’t be able to be used against them. It was abandoned in the AD 90’s and then was turned into a fortlet around 105 AD, by the Romans, and used for about 15 more years before once again falling out of use. The second usage was most likely a commissary fort used as an administrative and logistical centre. Excavation of the site began in the 1950’s and officially ended in 1995 when they discovered ruins of a town that was formed during the use of the second fortlet. Being able to walk around the fort, which is now completely covered by grass, was fascinating, being surrounded by a place that was in use 2,000 years ago! It’s a little hard to believe. The fort itself is now covered over in grass and would not make one think of a fort in any way. But you can still see the outline of the walls and where they would enter the fort.

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After we had our fill of exploring the ruins we decided to take on the rest of our hike! 5.6 miles later we arrived home, I think my husband’s favourite thing to do is to pick a trail, show me the map of the trail, knowing I won’t ask how long it is. Or if I do happen to ask he replies in kilometres, since he was born in Australia, and knows I’m not good at converting. It was a long hike but the views were incredible and as we climbed higher and higher into the moors! We were surrounded by wind, rocks, grass, a little bit of rain, and mud, but I have never enjoyed a hike so much. It’s exhilarating once you get to the top of a moor and are able to see the entirety of what appears to be a chunk of the earth splayed out before you. There were only a few other people out so getting to experience our first massive hike into the moors was kind of magical. We came across some interesting stone blocks placed near a fountain close to a farm house, tons of the traditional stone fences, and a church that was built in the late 1700’s! Every time I step outside of our flat I fall more and more in love with our enchanting little town and can’t wait to stay here and continue to explore for a few more months. 

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