All walks › Newport and the Gwent Levels
Newport and the Gwent LevelsCaerwent Roman Town
The most complete Roman town walls in Britain, still standing five metres high, around a village that sits inside them.
- Distance
- 3.1 mi / 5 km
- Time
- 1 hr 45
- Ascent
- 70 m
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
Walk the circuit of the walls and the excavated buildings, extending into the fields and towards Gray Hill. Level and easy.
Worth knowing
- The south wall stands to nearly five metres and is the best preserved in Britain.
- The forum, basilica and temple foundations are all exposed and free to visit.
- The village sits inside the Roman street grid, which is still traceable.
What you’ll see
The town walls and bastions, the forum and temple, and the village within.
Background
Venta Silurum was the civitas capital of the Silures, founded around 75 AD as the Roman administrative centre for south-east Wales.