Cirencester

On our rest day on 16 June a group visited Cirencester, a short distance from Cheltenham. Cirencester was the second largest Roman town in Britain.

The main purpose of the visit was to visit the Corinium Museum which has displays depicting life in the area from prehistoric times to the Civil War.

Displays include sections of mosaic floors

sections of painted plaster and

remains of marble columns.

There is a replica of a Roman garden where you can sit and contemplate.

We then visited the Church of St John the Baptist. This impressive church was built more than 1000 years ago. One of the guides gave us a tour of the building and then suggested that we go out through the side door to the gardens where the remains of a Roman wall could be located.

Outside the church is a market cross signifying the importance of the town as a market town during the wool boom.

Cirencester was well worth visiting.