Calleva Atrebatum

February. Rain. At last.
Drive. Silchester, Calleva Atrebatum, 43AD, Roman town.
GoreTex boots, expedition jacket, merino wool fleece, warm hat.
Muddy lanes, Rhododendron tunnels, slippery stiles, soggy fields.
Followed by a horse, barrow of dung. Sheep. Lots of them.
Bulls in another. Small mercies.
Rain. Under pylons, crackles above, gains in pace.
Stream, footbridge, copse of English Larch.
Rose cottage, old brick stables, snakey lanes, holly bushes, footbridge.
Another field, another copse, deer. Run away!
Fields, hedges, stiles, pheasants.
Turnips. Rabbits... were here.
Red post box. Wall Lane. Amphitheatre. Yes!
Hard floor, flint walls, trees too young to have seen the show.
History. Imagination. Visions.
Street. Pond. Church. Graveyard.
Roman Wall. Big Roman Wall. Tons of flint.
Rain. More rain. Perimeter, ancient tracks.
South Gate, West Gate, once thriving, now abandoned, empty, thrice 500 years.
Boots off, boxer engine, engage gears, greenlane.
Slip & slide. Shit ones pants, weak bridge, thanks for the warning.
Home. Dry. Football. Beer.

How was your Sunday? :)
[Read something comprehensible about Silchester Roman Town]