Wales

The Roman excavations at Caerleon near Newport are terrific. We saw them in the rain, which didn't spoil them at all. There's a TV doco called 'Coast' which is on in Aust & UK at the moment. One of the hosts, Neil Oliver, was in Caerleon with his film crew working on some other show while we were there. Saw him at amphitheatre & barracks.

Excavated part of Roman Baths complex within the barracks. There is no water there- just visual effects.

Footings for barracks for a Roman Legion.

Barry in the middle of the only excavated Roman Amphitheatre in Britain. Not quite the same as standing in the middle of the MCG, but pretty exciting.

Wonderful amphitheatre at Caerleon

How green was my valley. View from the tower at Raglan castle near Usk.

Welsh flag flying from the tower at Raglan Castle. Welsh is a resurgent language- apparently compulsory now for primary students throughout Wales. There is a welsh TV channel & radio stations. Every sign & notice is in English & Welsh.

Raglan Castle

There are lots of castles along the English/Welsh border. This was once the wild west. All ruins now of course. Raglan was the one we chose to look through. Had to pay, but was well interpreted with lots of information and photos. They are also doing restorative work - there were stonemasons working to restore a grand staircase when we were there.

Raglan Castle Keep

Another view from the tower