Caerleon

We rented a car for the weekend to drive along the southern coast of Wales visiting Caerleon, Solva and St David's. The reason to stop by Caerleon was to check out the Roman Amphitheatre.

This quiet little toen beside the River Usk was the site of a Roman Legionary Fortress and also believed to be the location of the legendary King Arthur's Camelot. We first arrived in the village at the Roman Bath Museum. Unfortunately, we were unable to visit the museum as it opened late on Sunday so did the tourist information office.

We then got the direction to the site of the Roman remains from a helpful local bloke. There is not much left of the fortress wall and the barracks, whereas the amphitheatre looked a lot more impressive with grass over the ruins.

This historical site dates back to the 1st century. The Roman made this place a very important settlement with fortress, barracks, infantry, amphitheatre and bath, in fact one of the major military centres for the Roman Army in Britain.

When traveling to Southern Wales, visitors should try to find time to visit Caerleon. It’s easy to find and almost tourist free (despite the fact that it was a fine summer weekend, there was no other visitors around when we were there).