My travel in UK

[Bran ap Maclou]

Hi,

Next tuesday I cross the Channel for ten days in the south-east of great-Britain. That's both for my job (I'm a plant hunter/grower) and holidays. So I arrive in Dover and I plan to visit Hastings, Leonardslee (Near Horsham), Exbury, Salisbury, Windsor, Oxford and London (Kew gardens + the center).

As roman and dark age fan I planned to visit Old Sarum, the ashmolean museum and the british museum.
I also planned some other historical visits in Battle abbey, Salisbury, stonehenge and London perhaps kipling'house.

Do you have some suggestions of interesting places to visit on a (roman) historical or reenactment point of view during my journey in the south-east quarter of England ??

Thanks !

Greg

PS : Next year I promess I'll go in Bath and Cornwall and the year after I'll be in Wales and hadrian wall and the year after I hope to travel in Scotland...

[M. Demetrius]

A plant hunter? Does that mean you search for obscure species of plant life and try to cultivate them elsewhere? Interesting.

Beware, though, some of them might hunt you back...I've heard that celery stalks....

[Materfamilias]

How about St Albans? has a nice Ampitheatre there, bits of wall and gatehouse, hypocaust and mosaic and a reasonable little museum with a couple of nice mosaics, the town itself was the site of a couple of Battles during the later War of the Roses and the street layout has changed little since then.
There's also Fishbourne Roman Palace might be a bit early for you too, but worth a visit. Hope they help

Deb

[Caballo]

Hi

You should visit Oxbow Books in Oxford- five minutes from the station. The best classical bookshop I know, often with special offers. The Ashmolean is undergoing a lot of re-development by the way. The Pitt Rivers museum (non Roman, anthropological/ tribal cultures) is well worth a visit.

In addition to the British Museum, the Museum of London is a must, as are the nearby remains of the Roman Wall and temple of Mithras in the City of London. Theres also some small remains of the amphitheatre in nearby Guildhall Museum.

Dover has some good remains- especially the painted room http://www.aboutbritain.com/doverromanpaintedhse.htm and the lighthouse.

And in addition to Stonehenge, I'd recommend a visit to Avebury, which I personally prefer to the more famous stone circle.

Cheers

Caballo

[Materfamilias]

Of course St Albans is a City, a small one granted, but a City 'cos of the Cathedral

My Other half is a Hertfordshire boy and this, apparently, is an imortant point to make....

Deb

[Bran ap Maclou]

A plant hunter? Does that mean you search for obscure species of plant life and try to cultivate them elsewhere? Interesting.

Beware, though, some of them might hunt you back...I've heard that celery stalks....

Yes, my main activity is to cultivate foreign varieties of Camellias, rhododendrons and a lot of central asian, chinese and japanese plants in France for customers who desire uncommon species and cultivars so the professionnal part of my travel is to seek for beautiful flowers proposed by English nurseries that you can't get on the continent. The British are THE gardener people in my opinion (though the dutch are the best for plant trade :wink: ). The Sussex during the first days of May is reputed to be one of the most beautiful place in the world. And please note that it's a French who say that. And Yes sometimes I travel under the tropics... and I learnt not to try to cultivate plants such as south american poisoned chainsaw thorne vines... neither the virginian Sumac :lol:

Thanks for the first ideas... I look for more infos immediately.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Of course St Albans is a City, a small one granted, but a City 'cos of the Cathedral

My Other half is a Hertfordshire boy and this, apparently, is an imortant point to make....

Deb

It has to be my favourite 'city' by far!

[Medicus matt]

Shore Forts! Especially Portchester.

Pay a trip to Silchester as well

Id' go there rather than Stonehenge/Salisbury/Old Sarum. Wiltshire is a bit of a long way over, more South West than South East.

Old Sarum's nice but Stonehenge is a bit.....dull.

[Bran ap Maclou]

Hi !

Thank you all for your suggestions.

I crossed back the channel ! The weather was perfect and I really enjoyed England, people were really helpful so it was great and I was really sad to leave Britain probably one of the most beautiful place at this time of spring.

On a roman point of view I missed a lot of places I wanted to visit but I underestimated the time I needed to visit nurseries (English are truly world gardening champions) and after 6p.m a lot of places are closed except pubs and supermarkets.
You're right, the coasts are really riches of good sites that I had to neglect. I took however an overseas pass to English heritage which revealed to be a good deal. So I Finally visited Battle abbey, Old Sarum, Stonehenge, Woodhenge, Salisbury cathedral. Perhaps not what I would have chosen if I had been alone.
Unfortunately the ashmolean museum in Oxford is closed till next november, I should have checked before but anyways Oxford time was really great and I bankrupted myself in bookshops.

Finally I mainly saw roman artefacts at the British museum. I stayed here the whole day and I only had time to take pictures and sketches (It's legal and particularly interesting for future artefacts copying !)of the roman artefacts and early middle-age which interested me. A quick stop in the coptic egypt room, a light speed visit in the parthenon room, another for the roset stone and it was time to leave. This museum is clearly one of my prefered places on the whole earth. So it ripped my heart off to leave at closing time, I hope to be back next year...

Bye !