Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
haps were the fortified homes of Dobunni tribal chieftains. Yet whatever
their function, they conformed to set patterns, being protected by deep,
rock-cut ditches and tall, near-vertical walls. Nowadays they invariably ap-
pear as rounded, grass-covered mounds, some saucer-shaped and dis-
tinctive, others perhaps with sections of wall having been lost under cen-
turies of ploughing. There are many fine examples of these hill forts along
the route, the largest being at Little Sodbury, where Sodbury Hill Fort cov-
ers 11 acres (4½ hectares), enclosed by ditches and earth ramparts. Uley-
bury is even larger, at more than 30 acres (12 hectares), but is just off
the route. Set on the escarpment above Dursley it had the additional pro-
tection of a 300ft (90m) drop down the scarp face. Other hill forts may
be seen along the way on Cleeve Common, Leckhampton Hill, Crickley Hill
and Painswick Beacon, among others.
When the Romans came in AD 43 they adopted some of these Iron Age
camps for their own use. In addition they built a fortress at Cirencester
and another near Gloucester, then linked the two with Ermin Street, which
is met on the Cotswold Way at Birdlip. Away from the towns - and none is
greater in this part of Britain than the world heritage city of Bath - agricul-
tural estates were established and well-to-do citizens built villas for them-
selves, usually richly decorated with mosaics, on well-chosen sites that
caught the sun. The Cotswold Way passes near two of these, one above
Wadfield Farm near Winchcombe, the other at Witcombe below Cooper's
Hill.
The Roman baths, near Bath Abbey (Section 13 southbound, Section 1 northbound)
The Roman occupation of the Cotswolds ended in AD 410 with the with-
drawal of the legions and the advance of the Saxons. The Dark Ages that
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