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Deva Roman Centre – Roman Chester with kids

Your child can be old enough to join the Army, to travel to foreign lands… and yet they’ll still write home asking for more pants. Or so it seems, based on the affectionate letter from one Roman legionary to his mum at Deva Roman Discovery Centre in Chester, bemoaning the weather and requesting more woollen underwear.

A sign showing a Roman soldier directs visits to Dewa Roman Experience in Chester - now called Deva Roman Centre, it's the perfect place to explore Roman Chester with kids

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Once the site of the largest Roman fortress in Britain, with the largest military amphitheatre just outside the city itself, Chester is a perfect place to visit with kids who love history: wandering along the old city walls and spotting the black and white timbered houses which date back to the 13th century.

But to get a taste of Roman life, there’s nothing quite like stepping back 2,000 years in time on the very site where Romans would once have lived, fought, died and complained about the cold. Which exactly what we did at Deva Roman Discovery Centre (previously called Dewa Roman Experience).

Stepping through the door of the small attraction, you’re transported into the hold of a Roman galley, to hear about the perils ahead as you voyage to this strange land on the edges of the known world, a drum beating constantly to keep the rowers in time.

For more things to do in Chester with kids, check out my picks of the best

Model beating a drum in the virtual Roman galley - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, now called the Deva Roman Discovery Centre, during a day discovering Roman Chester with kids

And onwards through the next door to Deva Victrix itself. Built by one of the Roman legions in around the decade following 70AD, it soon became home to the 20th Legion, Valeria Victrix, who rebuilt the fortress over the next few centuries as they held the site for the emperor.

Different sections offer a snapshot of everyday life – the food the legionaries ate, for example, or the buildings within the fortress.

Board showing a map and information about Deva Victrix, the biggest Roman fortress in Britain - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
Bowls of olives and nuts among some of the food people would have eaten 2,000 years ago - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
Two models relax in the mocked-up Roman baths in the section on Deva Victrix - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
A collection of Roman armour and shield - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
My daughter brandishes a sword in front of the fortress shrine, where treasure was kept safe - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids

But there are also quirky details to bring it more to life: the soldier desperate for more warm pants, the group punished by having barley instead of their bread ration, the mouse scampering along the edge of the communal baths where two men reclined and chatted in the water, much to my daughter’s faintly horrified amazement.

Her jaw dropped entirely when I revealed there were communal toilets too, where people would think nothing of a bit of a chat at the same time.

For more Roman history in the UK with kids, check out my pick from around the country

But if this is where most similar attractions stop, at Deva Roman Discovery Centre, it’s just the first part.

Persuaded to put down the wooden sword she’d been using to protect the legion’s treasure, we ventured through to the excavations themselves… past a storytelling area with a Medusa head and model bees.

No storytelling was taking place during our visit, but Minnie amused herself with the bees and reading the story folder, unperturbed by the mythical monster above.

A view onto the archaeological excavations, including Roman fortress remains - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
Medusa head with snake tongue above the storytelling area - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
My daughter looks at the storytelling book while holding a model bee - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids

And around the corner, the heart of the original fortress, uncovered by archaeologists in 1991. Each layer is labelled, with Saxon and Medieval remains stacked above the Roman foundations – itself 20% larger than Britain’s other Roman fortresses. Down a flight of stairs, bones and metal manacles sit neatly stacked in boxes.

Even more fun though is having a go yourself. Not on the original finds, of course, but in the museum’s fantastic hands-on section – paintbrushes are lined up next to gravel-filled trays, concealing mosaics, tiles and more.

Or there’s a cut-away section of Roman road to investigate with a map above showing the extensive network across the country, and information on just why they were all so straight.

Paintbrush by the gravel of the hands-on excavation section - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
Skeleton under the section on Roman medicine - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids

Past the section on Roman medicine, with a skeleton laid out and some distinctly unpleasant sounding remedies listed above, there’s a whole interactive room.

After dressing up as a soldier, posing as a charioteer, discovering that chain mail is still as heavy as last time we tried, and brandishing a shield, we stumbled across the goal.

Picking different neck slates to reveal the fates of slaves thrown behind bars – could you have danced your way out of trouble in front of the emperor? – we both declined the chance to inhale the scent of a Roman latrine, although I did risk a sniff of 6,000 pairs of smelly feet (and then scampered quickly to the lavender option).

My daughter with helmet and shield in the dressing up area - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
A selection of clothes and armour to dress up in - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
My daughter investigates the fates of various slaves in the small gaol section - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
My daughter builds a model hypocaust - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
Our model Roman arch bridge - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids

And while older kids will enjoy a few mathematical brain teasers using Roman numerals, we were busy building our own Roman bridge and hypocaust, a type of early central heating.

Turns out that for the former, all you need is a guide arch to stack the stones over… we built a couple, just to make sure we had the knack.

More fascinating to me was the collection of artefacts from Chester and across the Roman Empire, in the final room. As I marvelled at coins, jewellery and a surprising number of oil lamps, a mini treasure hunt of the display cases kept Minnie’s attention.

Display cases of Roman artefacts from Chester and across the empire - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
Close-up of some of the artefacts from across the Roman empire, magnified inside their display case - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids

Perfect practice, as we emerged back onto the streets of Chester, for our plans for the afternoon.

While Deva Roman Centre has regular public patrols with a Roman soldier, they weren’t running the day we visited – you can also join other Roman walking tours of Chester, but we decided to see a little more of the city, including the old Roman walls, by following one of the Chester Treasure Trails.

This time, a spy mission, starting at the Town Hall and taking us past the 700-year-old Abbey gatehouse and along part of the walls encircling the city, where Romans would have patrolled (wishing, doubtless, for warmer underwear) and King Charles I stood to watch the outcome of a Civil War battle.

For an alternative treasure hunt, check out the Treasure Map Trails of Chester – get 10% off using code MUMMYTRAVELS

My daughter and mum walking along the old Roman walls in Chester - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, now called Deva Roman Centre, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
A view up across the canal to the Roman city walls - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, now called Deva Roman Centre, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
A view of one of the old black and white houses in the city - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, now called Deva Roman, Centre, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
A view through the decorative iron on the bridge to the canal and a narrow boat sailing along - our review of Dewa Roman Experience (now the Deva Roman Centre) in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
A view across one old building to the Town Hall against a blue sky - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, now called the Deva Roman Centre, and discovering Roman Chester with kids

Some of the towers still stand, their own history featuring an Anglo Saxon Queen and goblins – according to legend – as well as the city’s own Bridge of Sighs above the canal.

Code cracked, we wandered past more of Chester’s black and white timbered houses to The Rows, the colonnaded galleries with buildings which date back to the 13th century. And one final Roman reminder, the numerals on the ornate Eastgate clock.

Not something the legionaries would have encountered, despite what I once innocently thought on a primary school visit to the city, but still as spectacular as ever. The Romans may be long gone, but it’s a perfect spot to walk in their footsteps.

The ornate Eastgate clock on the city walls by The Rows - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
Black and white buildings near Northgate street - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids
Black and white buildings of The Rows against a blue sky - our review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, and discovering Roman Chester with kids

Need to know: Deva Roman Centre – Roman Chester with kids

Tickets cost £16 for adults, £11 for children. The Roman Soldier school costs an extra £4 per child and take one hour – running on Wednesdays and Saturdays during school holidays.

The attraction – previously called Dewa Roman Experience – is open from 9m to 5pm on weekdays and Saturdays during peak months (February to November), 10-5pm on Sundays, with shorter opening hours during winter months.

There may be restricted access if school groups are visiting, so if you’re planning a trip during term-time, it’s worth checking in advance.

You’re recommended to allow around an hour for a visit, although if you’re visiting with younger kids, set aside a bit longer for the hands-on activities. There are toilets but no cafe.

For more ideas of places to visit with Roman history in the UK, check out this post

PIN FOR LATER: DEVA ROMAN DISCOVERY CENTRE

My review of Dewa Roman Experience in Chester, UK, and discovering Roman Chester with kids - from the Roman fortress which once stood on the site, to the old city walls and original excavations, it's the perfect English city for kids who love history.

Disclosure: My visit to Dewa Roman Experience was courtesy of the attraction but we paid for the Treasure Trail ourselves. All opinions and shonky hypocausts are my own. This post contains affiliate links – any purchases you make are unaffected but I may receive a small commission

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Award-winning family travel blogger and mum to the mini traveller, aka Minnie. Together we've visited Europe, America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, tried a cruise and a road trip, and survived countless long-haul trips. London (UK) based. Serious beach habit.

6 Comments

  1. Ever since I saw a page in my travel guide of Chester with those classic Tudor timber framed houses back when I was a kid, I have wanted to visit! Will likely try next time I’m in England, or I’ll wait for my friend’s Hen-do there! #CityTripping

    Reply

  2. We all loved chester too, so much to see and do, a really pretty city. Have you visited York? Another great city stuffed full of history. We are so lucky in this country to have so much culture 🙂

    Reply

    1. It is such a pretty city – I love York as well, one of my favourites although I haven’t been back for a while. I keep meaning to book another trip as my daughter hasn’t been at all yet.

      Reply

    1. Very fun to get a bit hands on – and a rather cunning way to stop all your bridges falling down. Would have been lovely to spend longer in Chester and explore even more, it’s such a gorgeous city.

      Reply

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