Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
Walk 33 : Mortimer to Aldermaston
The Roman town of Calleva
| Length | 13.1km (8.2 miles), 4 hours. For the whole outing, including trains, sights and meals, allow at least 7 hours. |
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| OS Landranger Map | No.175. Mortimer, map reference SU 673 641, is in Berkshire, 10km south-west of Reading. Aldermaston is also in Berkshire. Silchester and the Roman town of Calleva are in Hampshire. |
| Toughness | 3 out of 10. |
| Features | Gumboots might be a good idea for this walk, which can be very waterlogged on Papworth Common (even in relatively dry weather) and muddy by Papworth. From St Mary's Church in Stratfield Mortimer, the route follows a clear stream - Foundry Brook - eventually to the amphitheatre and to the 2.5km of Roman walls surrounding the 107-acre site of the Roman town of Calleva; and to the whitewashed twelfth-century church at its entrance. Lunch is at a pub on Silchester Common, and the afternoon is mainly through woods of Scots pine, and commons of gorse and birch trees. Aldermaston, the teatime destination, is reached over the weirs of the River Kennet. Trains back can be rare. If your group faces a long wait in winter, when the tea place is closed, you can call for a minibus-size taxi on 01635 862 002. |
| Shortening the Walk | There are buses about every half-hour from near the lunchtime pub, going to either Reading, Mortimer or Basingstoke. |
| History |
The layout of the Roman town of Calleva has survived intact, having been completely abandoned when the Romans withdrew from Britain (the Saxons hated walled towns). However, all the buildings, carefully excavated, have now been reburied to protect them from vandals and the elements. Only the town walls and the amphitheatre are visible. The amphitheatre was built in about 50AD, with space for up to perhaps 9,000 spectators. It would have been used for public ecutions and shows with wild animals, but only sparingly for gladiatorial contests, since gladiators, dead or alive, were expensive. The town walls required some 160,000 wagon-loads of flint and bonding stones, and were built about 260AD as part of a general move to protect the Roman Empire from mounting unrest. The tiny Calleva Museum, half a kilometre beyond the site, is open every day during daylight hours, without charge - but many of the exhibits from Calleva are on display in Reading Museum. The earliest part of St Mary the Virgin Church, Silchester, dates from about 1125, with the walls reusing old Roman bricks - there are two Roman temples underneath the church and graveyard. It has been suggested that John Bluett may have contributed to the building of the church, as the price of escaping a vow to join the crusades. Records reveal that the church had half a dozen rectors in 1349 - with most of these probably killed by the plague, although one was removed for 'trespass of vert' (the taking of timber from Pamber Forest). |
| Lunch | The suggested lunchstop is the Calleva Arms tel 0118 970 0305), Silchester Common. The new management has improved the food, which is served midday to 2pm daily; groups of more than 12 people should book. |
| New Walk Options |
Easy 4 mile extension along a canal to Theale. [details] |
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| Warning | This text was taken from an older edition of the book, and is a little out of date. Please check the updates for this walk. |
Walking Instructions
For a map and detailed walking instruction, please see Time Out Country Walks near London Volume 1
