Traveling in search of Roman sites sometimes takes me off the beaten track. But in Britain, no matter how far off the beaten track one gets, there is always a pub there.
Not only did I happen upon the spot where a bronze head of Emperor Claudius was found in Rendham, Suffolk but I also discovered the White Horse. I visited twice – once for a quick pint and back again for dinner a few weeks later. The food was great!
Also in Suffolk, I went to Bury St. Edmunds and had a pint in the smallest pub in Britain (in Guiness Book of Records), the Nutshell.
Norfolk – Visiting the Roman forts of Burgh Castle and Caistor-on-Sea led me astray into the Norfolk Broads and to a delightful afternoon stop watching pleasure boats docking at the Ferry Inn in Stokesby.
Poking around London for evidence of Romans is best done in museums. After a visit to the British Museum, chock full of Roman artifacts, I nipped into the Museum Tavern across the street. And after a morning at the Museum of London and an afternoon discovering bits of Roman wall and finding the temple of Mithras (when it was still there to find), I had supper at the Old Bell Pub in Fleet Street.
Further west in Hampshire, lunch was needed after a visit to Silchester Roman Town and the Red Lion Pub in Mortimer West End supplied a venison and cranberry baguette along with some local ale.
Lunch at the Rose and Thistle in Rockbourne, near Rockbourne Roman villa, was a smoked salmon sandwich accompanied by a gin and tonic.
The little Welsh town of Caerwent is surrounded by high Roman walls and interspersed among the modern houses are the remains of the Roman town of Venta Silurum. At the north gate is, naturally, the Northgate Inn where I stopped for a pint. Is it me, or does that Roman legionnaire look a little fuzzy?
