Walking Roman Roads

in Lonsdale and the Eden Valley

Walking Roman Roads in Lonsdale and the Eden Valley is the fourth and final volume of Philip Graystone's exploration of roman roads in north-west England; it brings to a conclusion his account of the great Roman military highway from Chester (the base of Legion XX) to Hadrian's Wall.

The author provides an invaluable guide to tracing this ancient route along its final, and arguably most interesting, section, through the dramatic scenery of the Tebay Gorge and over the fells around Crosby Ravensworth. Considerable stretches of this road are visible as earthworks, and some parts remain metalled roads still in use today. Major Roman sites, such as Low Borrow Bridge, Brougham and Old Penrith, are linked by it.

Walking Roman Roads in Lonsdale and the Eden Valley contains 16 sketch maps and 48 photographs, which show the route and highlight to the walker what may be seen along the way. The text supplies directions and useful notes on access, in addition to fascinating historical background. It provides a fitting climax to Philip Graystone's excellent series of Guides, just as Roman Carlisle - fort, town and civitas-capital - emerges as a fitting destination for the road itself.

Philip Graystone's interest in the Roman roads of north-west England dates from the 1950s, when, as a Marist priest, he was headmaster of St. Mary's College, Blackburn, and spent many happy out-of-school hours exploring these roads. Since then he has frequently revisited the area to observe and record, and has studied much of what has been written, by bygone antiquarians and by contemporary historians and archaeologists, about these roads and the people who planned and built them.

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