Site Seeing...

Today my tour guide Adam was well prepared and well organised and had planned a fun filled day showing off Welsh history.

Adam's parents suggested that we take an umbrella to which I declined saying that I had faith that the weather would hold out (even though Adam had previously told me that we were expecting 4 days of heavy rain).

First stop was Caerleon Roman Fortress & Baths.

Caerleon is one of Europe's most fascinating and revealing Roman sites. To the Romans the town was known as Isca. At Caerleon, the Romans created not just a military camp but an entire township, complete with amphitehatre and bath house. The variety of remains on view here is unparalleled within these isles, giving visitors a vivid picture of life in Roman Britain almost 2,000 years ago.

The 5,500 strong Second Augustan Legion established a 50 acre fort here in AD 75. The excavated remains of their barrack blocks are the only examples currently visible in all of Europe, standing in green fields near the fortress baths. The bath house was a central feature of Roman life, equivalent to today's sports and leisure centre.

The complex, designed on a monumental scale and as good as anything in distant Italy, contained an open-air swimming pool, exercise yard, a series of hot, warm and cold baths, heated changing rooms and covered exercise hall well insulated against the Welsh weather. The entire site, under modern cover buildings, can be viewed from an elevated walkway. Entertainments of another kind were on offer at the nearby amphitheatre which had seating for 6,000 people and was the scene of bloody combat involving wild beasts and gladiators. Standing in the middle of this well-preserved site today, it is easy to imagine the grassy terraces packed with thousands of excited spectators enjoying life-or-death spectacles. Finds from Caerleon's extensive excavations are displayed at the town's Legionary Museum which we also visited.

Then we headed across to The Museum of Welsh Life which was opened on 7 July 1948. Since then, it has established itself as one of Europe's foremost open air museums, becoming Wales' most popular heritage attraction. The Museum shows how the people of Wales lived, worked and spent their leisure time over the last five hundred years; and over the past fifty years it has inspired generations of visitors with an appreciation of Welsh history and tradition. The Museum stands in the grounds of the magnificent St Fagans Castle, a late 16th century manor house generously donated to the people of Wales by the Earl of Plymouth.

At this stage it had started to rain a little but it didn't stop us from enjoying this tourist attraction. Adam had to continually duck whilst walking throughout the houses, where as I did not, once again proving that being short isn't always a bad thing!

The 100-acre parkland now has over thirty original buildings, moved from various parts of Wales and re-erected to show how the people of Wales lived at various times in history.

The buildings include a school, a chapel and a Workmen's Institute as well as several workshops where craftsmen, such as the blacksmith and the cooper, demonstrate their skills to the public.

There are also large indoor galleries housing exhibitions of costume, daily life and farming implements. Special exhibitions are held at regular intervals. The Museum of Welsh Life literally comes to life when traditional festivals and customs and music and dance events are staged throughout the year.

Native breeds of livestock can be seen in the fields and farmyards, and regular demonstrations of farming tasks take place daily. At St Fagans, visitors can gain an insight into the rich heritage and culture of Wales and the Welsh language can be heard in daily use amongst craftsmen and interpreters.

After a hard day of site seeing we retired to The Culverhouse for lunch where Adam ate a little bit of salad! (those of you who know Adam will realise how big a deal this really is!) and we had a pint of Fosters each.... Please don't tell anyone!!

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