Walking Through History - Rome in the Lakes

Good morning and summer continues.  I hope that you are enjoying this time off.  Tony’s walk continues on.  Today, Tony is in the Lake District and learning about the Romans in Britain.  The run time for this episode is 47:12 and the episode is called Rome in the Lakes.  The link is here.

It had been thirty years since the Romans invaded Britain and now, they looked to conquer the Lake District region in Britain.  It was one of the toughest landscapes that the Romans ever encountered.  The Lake District National Park attracts thousands of visitors.  Now Tony takes on the challenge of the Lake District.  Tony begins this challenging walk at Penrith and a nearby castle.  He heads to Ullswater and travels on a Roman road.  Then he goes through mineral mineral-rich valley.  He concludes day two at Ambleside.  He continues along the way and heads towards the Irish Sea learning more about the Roman invasion of the Lake District.  He ends his journey in Ravenglass, a Roman fort that connected the Lake District to the rest of the Roman Empire.

Penrith is a tourist hub and it is where Tony begins his journey.  He looks for hints of the Roman presence in this tourist center.  He finds it at Brougham Castle.  Its ruins are from the 13th Century, however, there is a hint as to its Roman origins.  Tony finds the remains of a Roman gravestone in the castle.  He learns about one of the local tribes and its Queen who tried to make deals with the Romans.  Tony then makes his way to a henge.  These Henges would have confirmed to the Romans that the population was barbarians.

He continues his walk and talks about the hill tribes of the Lake District and how they came into conflict with the Romans.  He takes in the sight of an Iron Age fort and he looks at a map that shows the Roman road.  This road is still used by hikers and Tony talks with Iian Gray about the Roman road and what it takes to repair the road.  This road was a masterpiece of planning and execution in the Roman world.  When Tony planned his walk he thought that the Romans were crazy to build a road in the area and as he walks it he now realizes that the Romans made a good decision.  Day one with some spectacular views.

Day two begins with a ferry ride.  The Lake District drew tourists over the years and a ferry service was required.  The people were drawn to the area because of a local son, Poet William Wordsworth.  Eventually, Tony gets off the ferry and continues to explore the Roman impact on Great Britain.  After the Romans conquered Britain, they would have turned their attention to exploding the local resources.  Lead would have been one of those resources.  Tony tours a former lead mine.  After this tour, Tony walks six miles to another stop along his Roman tour.  He then makes his way to Ambleside.

Beatrix Potter lived in the Lake District.  Romans would have brought the rabbits that would have inspired her stories.  Ambleside was a hub for the Romans as well.  Tony meets with an old friend (Sadly, not Phil) and tours the ruins of a Roman fort.  However, the Romans would eventually pull back because there were other needs for the empire.  Troopers were slowly removed from Britain and so they would have to win over the locals to keep the peace in the Roman Empire.  How did the Romans manage to keep the peace in Britain during this time?  What else does Tony learn about the Romans in the Lake District?  Tune into the rest of the episode to find out more.

The landscape was gorgeous that Tony was walking through.  I could not help but feel sorry for Tony’s calves as he made his way down those hills.  Something when wonky with YouTube and the screen shrunk so it was not the full screen.  It did not ruin the experience though.  Tony continues to show his interest in the subject.  Even with the wonkiness towards the end, I would still consider showing this to a history classroom and a geography classroom.