The best Roman places to visit, UK

Travel is definitely educational – my daughter’s schoolwork has inspired a trip to Italy (not least because I never say no to a trip to Rome) but before I bit the bullet and booked flights, I’d been eyeing up the best Roman places to visit in the UK as well.

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Because if your kids are studying Ancient Rome at school – or you’re simply a little bit fascinated by what the Romans did for us – you needn’t leave the UK to find plenty of places with Roman history.

And even more excitingly for kids, it’s not just exhibits in a museum or the odd fragment of mosaic in a field (however astonishing these might be for adults). I’ve rounded up the UK’s top Roman sites with kids.

Hadrian’s Wall

Hadrian’s Wall is probably the best known Roman site in the UK, stretching for 87 miles, crossing three counties and reaching nearly from one coast to the other – marking what was the northern edge of the Roman Empire.

Today you can walk along much of the wall which makes for a wonderful family day out. Every few miles along the wall there are forts and other locations to visit too. I’ve included a few of the best below.

Vindolanda, Bardon Mill, Hexham, Northumberland

Just south of Hadrian’s Wall near the little village of Bardon Mill sits the Roman fort Vindolanda and the Roman Army Museum.

This is a fantastic spot to see both the wall itself and a Roman fort, plus your ticket gives you entry into the Roman Army Museum.

The museum uses some great 3D technology to show what life was like for soldiers along Hadrian’s Wall while also being home to some amazing Roman artefacts, to help bring it all to life.

Housesteads Roman Fort & Museum, Hexham, Northumberland

Not far from Vindolanda, you’ll find the Housesteads Roman Fort & Museum. There you can see the most complete example of a Roman Fort in Britain, one of 16 permanent bases along the wall with views out for miles.

It’s a fantastic place to go for a picnic and kids will have the opportunity to dress up like Roman soldiers in the museum.

Even better, you can see some of the world’s oldest loos with one of the best preserved sets of Roman communal toilets – guaranteed to raise a fascinated euuuurgh!

For more things to do in Northumberland with kids, check out this post

Segedunum Roman Fort Wallsend, Tyne and Wear

At the eastern end of Hadrian’s Wall sits a garrison that was in use for nearly 300 years that is today the most thoroughly excavated fort along Hadrians Wall.

The interactive museum at Segedunum includes a full-scale reconstruction of a bathhouse and a 35-metre high viewing tower that will allow you to look out across the World Heritage Site.

Tullie House Museum, Carlisle, Cumbria

Carlisle was home to not one, but two forts along Hadrian’s Wall including Uxelodunum, the largest of all the forts on the Wall.

Sadly, this fort is buried beneath a suburb so it can’t be visited. However, the nearby Tullie House Museum is home to a number of amazing Roman artefacts that include what may be the first written reference to the name Britannia.

While the Roman collection is likely to appeal more to older kids, the entire museum has received the Telegraph Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award.

Scroll down for more Roman forts not on Hadrian’s wall or check out my mini guide to Hadrian’s wall for kids

Roman cities, UK

There’s Roman history to be discovered across much of England in particular, but especially in their major cities – some, like Londinium, are as important in modern-day Britain while others have a rather quieter existence 1,600 years on.

Bath and the Roman Baths

One of the best-known Roman settlements in the UK, it’s all because of the Roman Baths – the most complete, and most famous of their type in the world.

They have a fantastic audio guide just for kids that is read out by different characters and brings the Baths to life, along with actors playing Roman roles to chat to along the way.

There are also has several different family trails for you to pick from as you explore, not to mention trying the water at the end. In fact, when we visited we found it more than we could see in one trip.

Verulamium, St. Albans, Hertfordshire

Once the third largest city in Roman Britain, Verulamium is a great place to visit if you’re looking for places with Roman history in the south east.

Today, you can still explore the remains of the ancient Roman site, now part of St Albans, complete with a Roman theatre and city walls.

The park containing the ruins of Verulamium also includes an area for children to play in – and perhaps to imagine themselves on the journey from Londinium to Deva Victrix (Chester) along the original Roman road of Watling Street.

In the museum there are free activity sheets and hands-on discovery areas as well as dressing up at weekends or holidays, some of the best preserved Roman mosaics in the country and a hoard of gold coins.

The St Albans treasure hunt from Treasure Map Trails is another great way to explore – get 10% off using code MUMMYTRAVELS.

Chester and Deva Roman Centre

Chester is one of the UK’s top Roman sites; Deva Victrix was home to one of its legions, and you can still walk the city’s Roman walls.

Start at the Deva Roman Discovery Centre (formerly Dewa Roman Exerience), where you’ll find reconstructed Roman buildings, as well as some of the original foundations, not to mention seeing artefacts, doing some basic excavation, and even getting to try on Roman armour.

This hands-on experience will show you what it was like living in Chester in the Roman times and if you’re lucky you might even get to see a soldier patrol.

Even if you miss the extra activities, as happened when we went, we still had an amazing time. Then head outside to walk the old Roman walls which still encircle Chester.

You can also wander into the amphitheatre too, the largest in Britain, which was only excavated last century. For another fun way to explore Chester with kids, check out the Treasure Map Trails collection, including the Chester Eastgate & Amphitheatre map, with a string of sights for children to spot on the way – get 10% off using code MUMMYTRAVELS.

Click here to read our review of a day out exploring Chester and Dewa Roman Experience as well as ideas of more great things to do in Chester with kids

Cirencester

Known as Corinium Dobunnorum, Cirencester was another important Roman settlement, the second largest after Londinium.

Today in the Cotswolds market town, you can visit the site of a Roman amphitheatre that held 8,000 people on its outskirts, as well as the remains of the Roman villa at Chedworth nearby (scroll down for more).

But as well as the places with Roman history to visit, there’s a great museum – the Corinium Museum with its Roman artefacts, some beautiful mosaics and information on what the ancient city would have looked like.

There are coins and jewellery on display, alongside weapons – and replica armour for kids to try to lift! You can also play a few quizzes to see how much you’ve taken in in the interactive games along the way.

Colchester

Camelodunum – as modern-day Colchester was known in Roman times – was once the capital of Roman Britain, and played a big role in the famous battles against the Iceni and their queen Boudicca (as we discovered on our mini road trip in East Anglia).

There are a couple of great ways to explore Roman Colchester with kids too, including an audio tour that you can download to a phone, a self-guided walking tour and an ancient Colchester app.

Along the way, these will take you part the ruins of some of Colchester’s Roman buildings, including the Temple of Claudius, the Roman walls, one of its three theatres, even the remains of houses in Colchester’s Castle Park.

There’s also a visitor centre to tell you more about the circus, the only place for chariot races on the island of Britannia.

For more things to do in Colchester with kids, check out my pick of the best

London

A lot of Roman Londinium is buried under centuries of history these days, although if you know where to look, you can still find echoes of the city’s Roman history.

The best starting place is at the London Museum with its gallery dedicated to Roman London, which endured almost the entire time the Romans were in Britannia.

EDIT: The museum is now temporarily closed until reopening in its new site at Smithfield in 2026

As well as the free museum, which has trails for kids, you can spot part of the old Roman wall just outside as well. Or head towards Tower Hill for another stretch, along with a statue of the emperor Trajan.

For another fascinating free spot in London is the temple of Mithras – the Mithraeum was uncovered in Bloomberg’s offices in the City of London, with the ancient temple and artefacts on show to the public. Book to guarantee entry.

For more tips on discovering Roman London with kids, check out my guide or my downloadable mini guide to Roman London for kids

Roman villas

While forts can be fascinating and museums packed with some of the best Roman artefacts found in the UK, there’s nothing quite like seeing how people used to live in Roman Britain – the lucky ones in their luxurious villas at least!

Fishbourne Roman Palace, Fishbourne, West Sussex

Fishbourne Roman Palace is one of the oldest and most complete Roman palaces in all of Britain, complete with some amazing mosaics and gardens.

It isn’t known who the luxurious palace belonged to but that doesn’t take away from the fun at all.

For the kids, there are some activities to complete as you visit too, including Mosaic Bingo and Palace Puzzles.

If one Roman home isn’t enough, Bignor Roman villa is around half an hour away, with more mosaics to see.

Chedworth Roman Villa, Chedworth, Gloucestershire

Chedworth Roman Villa in the Cotswolds is another spectacular example of a luxurious Roman villa with temples and a shrine to a water nymph.

While they’re there, kids can follow a number of trails that show what life was like in the villa or even learn how to track down signs of wildlife, as well as discovering two bath houses, a hypocaust (underfloor heating) and some well-preserved mosaics. There was even a flushing toilet!

They also offer family tracker packs so kids can go hunting for bugs and enjoy some bird watching and extra crafts like making your own mosaic.

Brading Roman villa, Isle of Wight, Hampshire

If you’re visiting the Isle of Wight, there’s another chance to wander around a Roman villa at Brading – when we visited, they were running a special bear hunt trail but there are various family events throughout the year.

You can wander around and see the remains of the famous Roman underfloor heating, make your own mosaic and try your hand at various puzzles on the way round.

Lullingstone Roman Villa, Kent

First built soon after the Roman invasion and becoming more luxurious over the years, it’s believed that Lullingstone villa has had some distinctly memorable inhabitants.

Home (probably) to a one-time governor of Britain, who went on to become Emperor of Rome – briefly. He racked up an impressive 87 days in charge… before being murdered.

As well as galleries of artefacts, you can see mosaics and rare wall paintings, heated baths and evidence of both worship of Roman gods and early Christianity. Kids can try on Roman costumes and play board games from the time, as well as watching a special light show.

If you’re visiting Kent, make time to check out Canterbury Roman Museum as well, one of my top days out in Kent with kids

Roman forts

It’s not only Hadrian’s Wall where you can discover more about life in a Roman fort, with several of the UK’s top Roman sites on England’s coastline and into Wales.

Arbeia Roman Fort, South Shields, Tyne & Wear

Arbeia is an amazing reconstruction of a Roman Fort, although you can still see some of the remains of the original barracks, built to help supply Hadrian’s Wall from the sea.

For families, it also offers some of the most memorable events you’ll find at any Roman site, including gladiatorial battles, falconry demonstrations, and Roman re-enactments that all ages will love.

There are also characters dotted around the fort, both ancient Romans and native Britons to bring things to life for kids.

Caerleon Roman fortress and Baths, near Newport, Wales

It’s not just England where you can discover places with Roman history in the UK – a short drive from Cardiff, you’ll find one of three permanent legionary fortresses in Britain at Caerleon in Wales, the furthest outpost of the Roman empire.

Known to the Romans as Isca, the cramped barracks where the solders slept can still be seen – not to mention a huge open-air swimming pool (and some of the jewellery found in its drains on display in the site’s National Roman Legion museum).

As well as special family activities during holidays, Caerleon is also home to the most complete Roman amphitheatre in the country. Not quite on a par with the Colosseum but there’s also an app with a treasure hunt around the fortress and amphitheatre.

If you venture further west into Wales, you can also discover the Dolaucothi Gold mines in Carmarthenshire – the UK’s only Roman gold mine and hunt for treasure too. For kids over 100cm only.

Cardiff Castle

Although Cardiff Castle itself isn’t a Roman construction, the remains of a Roman fort were found there in the 19th century, hidden for around 900 years after William the Conqueror had his own fortress built on the site.

In fact, there were four different Roman forts built here, dating back to the first century AD and you can still see some of the Roman walls in the Visitor Centre.

The Saxon shore forts

Dotted along the coast of England, the Romans built a string of defences known as the ‘Saxon Shore’ forts.

In Norfolk, you can see the remains of Caister Roman Fort, while in Kent, there’s the ruins of the old Roman fort by Reculver Towers. Both need a fair bit of imagination to conjure up the hundreds of legionaries they once housed.

A better spot is Richborough Roman fort in Kent with its stone walls and museum. You can take an audio tour too – and if you want to arrive Roman style, you could even hop on a boat from Sandwich!

The Antonine Wall forts – Rough Castle, Falkirk

If you think the Romans stopped at Hadrian’s Wall, think again – a couple of decades later, they’d pushed further north and build a new wall stretching from the Clyde to the Forth.

The Antonine Wall was built of turf rather than stone, but also had forts dotted along its length, and you can still discover some of these. Only in use for around 20 years, they’re less complete than those along Hadrian’s Wall though.

Rough Castle, near Bonnybridge, Falkirk, is one of the best preserved, and gives an idea of what the wall must once have looked like.

Alternatively, around half an hour away, there’s Bar Hill Fort. Looking out across the Kelvin Valley, is another option to get a feeling of what life must have been like for the troops stationed here.

For a family-friendly tour of Rome itself, check out my review of our Tapsy Tour of Rome

PIN FOR LATER: THE UK’S TOP ROMAN SITES WITH KIDS

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Images copyright MummyTravels/courtesy Depositphotos; Caerleon image courtesy VisitWales

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