Roman Ruins of Tomen Y Mur North Wales

We arrived in Wales on Friday night in the midst of a snow storm. It was hardly any snow, but driving through the mountains without any snow tires, was a bit more difficult than driving in Nova Scotia.

We started by getting our bearings in the nearest town of Porthmadog (which has an incredible harbour). We did some shopping and discovered where all the best shops were.

For our first adventure we went across the street, and up a hill to the site of ancient Roman ruins called Tomen Y Mur.

According to the website, Tomen Y Mur is one of the most complete Roman military sites in Britain, established in order to secure Roman power in Wales.

Visible features include the remains of an amphitheatre, a parade ground, a bathhouse and a reconstructed wall, complete with a replica of one of the centurial stones found on the site.

 We drove to the top of the hill and took a public footpath across a field of sheep, towards the ruins.

The scenery from the top was outstanding!

There is a reconstructed wall on site, and a replica of one of the carved stones.

On top of the old Roman ruins there is the ruins of an old farm house that lends to the incredible scenery.

A Norman motte – the grassy mound in the centre of the fort – is hard to miss. The name Tomen y Mur means ‘mound in walls’, so the motte has also given its name to the location.

Since Daniel will be studying Roman civilizations and working on a project about it, we will surely be back several times!

I wonder if we will ever tire of this view outside our door, and take it for granted, like we do at home!

Or, will we grow tired of taking pictures of sheep?

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