Lead: Frank
Thanks to Frank’s interest in Roman history, we had an excellent morning walking to and exploring the site of the Roman villa at Caermead near Llantwit Major. This is a site that several of us had wanted to visit but never quite got around to visiting.
Five of us parked in Llantwit, then followed some rather less well- known/used footpaths to the north of the town. Some of these we had been on some years before, and several brought back some amusing memories of some years ago, when two members of the group carried or rather, lugged (it looked very heavy!) a wooden pallet across two fields so we could cross a wide ditch without falling in. It had been transported there a few days previously, but today the ditch was dry so no need for such efforts.
Today the weather was glorious, just perfect for a country exploration, sunny with a beautiful blue sky and a slight breeze. The walk took in a number of delightful, level and beautifully grassy fields, although we had to access these by a large number of not such wonderful stiles. Giving each other a bit of a hand over them was the best way to prevent some potential accidents, so we managed unscathed to cross about fifteen or so stiles in the course of the morning. A field of cattle with youngish calves, we thought might present a challenge, but sending forth our usual “front runner”, (guess who!?) soon sent all the cattle in the opposite direction so we passed without incident.
When we got to the field near Caermead, it looked fenced off, but by going around the corner for a short coffee stop, we found easy access to the site, so enjoyed our refreshments atop the grassy remains covering some old walls. Further wandering led us to what looked like an entrance to the villa and we could see what a wonderful spot this was with fairly extensive views, but also what looked like a source of water in one corner of the field.
The walk back was uneventful but very pleasant; it is a lovely domesticated landscape and the going good, so we were back on time to call this an excellent morning’s walk.
Wick Wanderers 