Favourite Historical Site

[Esioul]

My favourite historical/archaeological sites to visit have to be Bamburgh castle and Rievaulx and Jervaulx Abbeys. A lot of it's to do with the amazing settings, I think! Bamburgh is right by the North Sea. So... what's your favourite site?

 

[Somni]

Don't really have a favourite but I'd really like to visit Vindolanda. I've fancied the trip since I saw it on telly but it is a bit far away for an easy trip.

 

[Severus]

As for sites I've actually been to, the Coliseum and Pompeii were fairly impressive. Italy and Rome in general are treasure troves of stunning historical sites and sights.

I'd love to visit Petra though. That'd kick ass.

 

[GrownUp]

Don't really have a favourite but I'd really like to visit Vindolanda. I've fancied the trip since I saw it on telly but it is a bit far away for an easy trip.

Vindolanda. Is. Amazing.

And while you're in Northumberland you can see Newcastle Castle Keep! which is so much more explorable than you'd think from the outside. I wish I'd been 10 when I first found it.

Oh, historical sites are so much fun.

Caerphilly Castle. A slighly broken-down, slightly restored masterpiece, with a wonky tower and no guard rails, and no no-entry signs.

 

[Somni]

Vindolanda. Is. Amazing.

Nice to hear another recommendation, really must organise to go, maybe next year.

 

[Rosemary]

Stonehenge is my favourite, followed by Old Sarum.

 

[The Judge]

Durham Cathedral, particularly in the snow, for its magnificence and grandeur. The setting is incomparable - try arriving on the train for a first visit.

Michelham Priory in East Sussex for its sense of peace and timelessness.

 

[Mouse]

Glastonbury Abbey. Olympia was also pretty damn good when I went there.

 

[mosaix]

The Acropolis, Athens. Followed by Stone Henge.

 

[Allegra]

The Acropolis, Athens. Followed by Stone Henge.

I'm so looking forward to Acropolis but everytime when I make serious plans they start a new riot!

My favourite - the infinite Palatine Hill and Roman Forum.

 

[Pyan]

Castlerigg Stone Circle, between Skiddaw, Blencathra and Helvellyn in the Lake District.

Just a simple stone circle in itself - but oh, the setting...

 

[mosaix]

I'm so looking forward to Acropolis but everytime when I make serious plans they start a new riot!

My favourite - the infinite Palatine Hill and Roman Forum.

Still not managed at Allegra?

If you wait for things to settle down you may never get there.

 

[Ursa major]

I've only seen the Coliseum from the outside, at night and through the rain; but it was still impressive. (The rest of our time in Rome, 36+ hours, was spent in a hotel preparing presentations and at the customer's site giving them: not at all historic.)

But I have been lucky enough to see Petra (stunning) and Egypt (various places between Cairo and Abu Simbel).

Apart from the history oozing from the stones, there's the huge scale of the sites (such as the three pyramids at Giza and the simply vast temple at Karnak); there are the massive carvings and statues. And most of all, there's the setting: the Nile flowing through rich farmland, barrent deserts close on either side**. It feels like a land of magic, even when you know how it came to be.

Truly a land of wonder.

My favourite site is Giza and, in particular, the Great Pyramid (that of Khufu). Even with its outer casing removed, I found it hard not to marvel at what comparatively few people, with simple tools, managed to create. Both impressive and (when inside) surprisingly intimate, it is - there is no doubt about it - a folly; and yet it's also a monument to the human desire - another folly, perhaps - to find its place in the universe, whatever the cost.



** - The transition to desert is abrupt, only ten or so metres as the grass gives way to sand and rock.

 

[Allegra]

Still not managed at Allegra?

If you wait for things to settle down you may never get there.

You are right, mo. I think I'm just waiting for the revolution!

 

[The Ace]

I've a soft spot for Ardoch fort, near Braco.

It's one of the largest Roman forts in Europe and both armies at Bannockburn could've fitted in there comfortably.

The site of Bannockburn itself, of course........

 

[Esioul]

All great suggestions

I visited Vindolanda, they were digging at the time, I saw someone find a Roman leather shoe!

 

[nj1]

I was lucky enough to have several school excursions to CAERLEON in Newport, South Wales during my youth, A Roman legion base with a nice museum and some good remains, they also claim it may be the site of Arthur's Camelot.

Caerleon Past Present And Future, Roman Isca, Camelot of King Arthur

I also want to visit York one day, due to it's strong Viking history

JORVIK Viking Centre

 

[Peter Graham]

Oooh! So many to choose from...

I'd go for Lincoln Cathedral for sheer impressiveness, Stokesay Castle in Shropshire for sheer bucolic loveliness, Viroconium, Whitby parish church (built by boatbuilders and it shows) for oddity value, Snelland parish church for real oddity value, Saltaire (for some muscular industrial altruism and a pint) and Kenmure Castle.

Regards,

Peter

 

[svalbard]

Dunbeg fort on the Slea Head in Kerry is one of those places I love going back to. It is an ancient ringfort on the cliffs facing out into the Atlantic. There is nothing really spectacular about it, except for the scenery which allows the imagination to run riot.

 

[The Ace]

I have to admit, nj1, I've been to Carlaeon on two occasions when we were guests of the Ermine Street Guard.

Being a Roman Soldier in the arena is an experience beyond description.