ROADS
Sarn Helen, Wales
‘ALL ROADS LEAD to Rome’, so the saying goes. Arteries of commerce and military power, roads were arguably Rome’s greatest legacy to Britain. 2000 miles of paved trunk roads criss-crossed Britannia, linking the province’s principal cities and forts. Some remain in heavy use to this day, albeit now metalled with modern asphalt: the A1, A2 and A46 all follow Roman precursors. Others survive only as bumpy cart tracks.
Roads enabled Roman legions to swiftly quell rebellion and unrest, but were soon utilised for trade. 10,000 miles were laid by AD150, with tributary routes facilitating the export of prized metals mined from Britain’s hills, including copper and gold. Lead from Somerset was cast into pipes for plumbing. Imperial coins were minted from Mendip silver.
Surveyed and built by military engineers, Roman roads favoured direct routes over high, dry ground, avoiding ambush-prone twists and turns. They varied in width (averaging 23ft across), with kerbed drainage trenches dug on either side. Rubble was used as a foundation for a cambered ‘agger’ of gravel and paving stones forming a durable road surface. But faced with extreme terrain, the Romans had to compromise on route choice and materials, as in metal-rich Wales.
Later attributed to a 4th century saint, Sarn Helen is the name given to several Roman roads navigating the Cambrian Mountains from north to south. It endures as roads and bridletracks. Original Roman metalling (utilising local stone) survives in the Brecon Beacons National Park, near the remains of a Roman camp at Plas-y-Gors. Wales wasn’t the only mountainous part of Britain the Romans drove a road through. In Cumbria, the fell of High Street gets its name from the ancient road traversing its 2717ft summit.
WALK THE ROADS: Turn to Walk 22 for a 7 -mile route tracing a section of Sarn Helen through Fforest Fawr. Download a route card for High Street at www.livefortheoutdoors.com/bonusroutes