ストラトフィールド・モーティマーのおすすめランニングルート

Found inside the lovely church of St Mary’s near Silchester. Nil desperandum - my new motto for hills

Fabulous coffee and cinnamon buns

Annual dig by Reading University (and other) archaeologists. Unfortunately, discontinued because of lack of cash and COVID.

St Mary the Virgin at Silchester sits at the top of Church Lane, a quiet single track road. This can get a little messy when the weather has been wet, with mud & debris running into the road and in parts forming two 'tracks' through the mud. Just be aware. Likewise, if you do have the misfortune to meet a car (or tractor) there is little room for both. In the summer months, walkers are often encountered walking in the middle of the road seemingly oblivious to anything else. The roman wall around Calleva Atrebatum is very popular, especially as you can walk on it all the way round. That said, I find Church Lane, Wall Lane and Clappers Farm Road, all of which pretty much come together at the church, to be lovely quiet roads to ride on. I do enjoy the undulating nature of most of the lanes around here.

Calleva originated during the Iron Age and became the centre of the kingfom of the Atrebates. After Roman invasion in 43AD, the town was enlarged. It thrived throughout Roman rule, but, upon their departure, the town was slowly abandoned. Today, the site is managed by English Heritage. You can visit the crumbling Roman walls and amphitheatre. Entrance is free.

The Church of England parish church of St Mary the Virgin is just within the walls of the former Roman town [Calleva Atrebatum], possibly on the site of a Roman temple. The building may contain some re-used Roman materials. The building dates from the late 12th or early 13th century. [...] Cit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silchester

Silchester in Hampshire originated as Calleva, a centre of the Iron Age Atrebates tribe from the late 1st century BC. After the Roman conquest of AD 43 it became the large and important town of Calleva Atrebatum. Unlike most Roman towns, it was never reoccupied or built over after it was abandoned in the 6th or 7th century, so archaeological investigations have given an unusually complete picture of its development. The complete circuit of the Roman walls, some of the best-preserved Roman town defences in England, and remains of the amphitheatre still stand. For more information, see: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/silchester-roman-city-walls-and-amphitheatre/

Wide and smooth for bikes, gates at either end.