Poor old Newport

According to the few people I chatted with in Newport, it doesn’t have a great deal going for it, though I had a nice enough time there; and it’s in Wales! I stopped at the Pavillion Coffee Shop in a huge park for brekky where the woman being served before me invited me to sit with herself and her husband. We had a lovely chat, they’d been out home for three weeks last year and thoroughly loved it – it’s nice to talk to just normal people, not only those at the BnB.

Think I got a bit lost in the park but eventually made it out in one piece and got to the bus station where I hassled some poor person to find out which bus to catch to get to Caerleon.

Caerleon’s great claim to fame is its Roman ruins, so, of course, that’s what kept me happy for the rest of the day. I found the amphitheatre first and compared to the only other Roman amphitheatre, the Colosseum, I’ve seen, it’s tiny. Even though it’s small with not a lot of stone-work showing, the basic shape is still obvious; and every time I visit one of these places I’m still awestruck at how long they’ve been there and how many people must have walked the same paths so long ago.

The barrack remains were just across the road with hardly any signage to show where they are but once you find them the footprint is quite large. I must admit there’s not a lot to see and the most interesting part was the communal latrine.

I shared my museum visit with about 20 rabid little hooligans running rampant while their teachers practiced selective deafness. It’s actually a great little museum and if you’ve visited the Roman barracks site and read about their latrine setup, then a visit to the toilet is a must!

The baths complex is pretty awesome – and the teachers in here had their charges on a much tighter leash as well. It’s quite difficult to tell how much of the original baths still exist because it’s all protected by walkways and is quite dark inside, really well done though.

Found a lovely cosy cafe for a late lunch/early dinner then back to Newport and The Knoll House for some journalling in the lounge full of paintings, old furniture and knick-knacks.

Roman museum Caerleon

Caerleon

Caerleon

Careleon, UK

View from Pavillion Cafe, Newport

River near Caerleon