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You often overlook visiting places on your doorstep; this was our first visit to Silchester – site of a Roman City and Amphitheatre. The excavations of the site were stopped a couple of years back – a shame as there’s much still to be rediscovered.
The site is now managed by English Heritage. There is a good sized car park and you walk around the fields to reach the amphitheatre. This outer track followed the lines of the old City Walls and several sections were now visible. Along the way there are boards with a map and pictures of how the Roman City would have looked.
It’s a pretty quiet site so we were the only ones inside the amphitheatre.
The amphitheatre was a little outside the City and imagination was needed to take you back in time, especially hard to visualise just how many people could be seated here as the site was surrounded by trees and shrubs.
Hard to believe an entire city is hidden under the field!
The walk had built up an appetite. We aren’t familiar with the area, so relied on TripAdvisor to help us find a place for lunch. We ended up at The Barn in Bramley. It was busy and managed to find a space in the car park and the last table outside. There were plenty of tables inside too.
A huge choice on the menu so it took a while to decide. Callum and Jon opted for milkshakes and I had a Berry Smoothie whilst we decided what to have. In the end, I went for the Coronation Chicken baguette, Jon the Bombay Chicken Wrap and Callum a cheeseburger! The sandwiches / baguettes all came with chips and salad and were really good and very filling. We’ll be back if we’re next in the area.
