Thas A Fact?

With the intention of ‘seeing more of our locale for less’, we decided to embark on a series of free days out in Norfolk, starting this weekend with a visit to the Roman Fort at Burgh (pronounced Bo-rough) Castle.

Found just West of Great Yarmouth, the remains of the fort are maintained by English Heritage, but owned by the Norfolk Archeological Trust, who presumably have been involved in creating a new and excellent quality car and coach parking area near to the Fort. (Frankly, we’ve seen grander visitor attractions that didn’t enjoy such a decent entrance).

New walkway to the fort at Burgh Castle.

Situated on a raised location (for Norfolk anyway) that looks out over Breydon Water (with views towards the Berney Arms windmill), the fort was known in Roman times as Gariannonum and was built in about 280AD as a defence against invading Saxons. Three of the four massive sides of the fort still stand – 9 feet thick and 14 feet high, probably their original full height. Surviving fantastically intact, it can be matched by few other Roman sites in Britain.

The Roman Fort in the distance.

The walls are built of carefully knapped flints and mortar, interspersed with layers of red Roman tile for strength. The remains of the Roman town at Caistor also display this style, but the ruins are not nearly as well preserved. The east wall, with the gate in the middle, features four huge rounded towers.

Walls of the fort at Burgh Castle.

A stroll around the ruins of the fort leads you onto several other scenic footpaths, and the surrounding area is perfect for fishing and birdwatching. We walked down to the Fisherman’s Arms, flanked by water on our right all the way. This would have been a perfectly acceptable mid-walk refreshment stop, had Little Man not decided to squeeze a tube of sun cream all over the place, while we were there, meaning we ended up rubbing as much onto him as we could (leaving him looking ill in pallor) and departed pretty sharpish.

Strolling along one of the riverside walks.

Taking a route back along the road (through several holiday parks), the sun shone and the flora of the area, combined with the slightly worn anti-sheen that everything has, being close to water (you see it on the Coast too), evoked the feeling of being on holiday ‘abroad’ somewhere. It could have easily been a little port in Portugal or suchlike. All in all, this helped to produce a very relaxed feeling (even though we feared we might have been lost at this point). Result.

Back at the car-park (yes, we made it – hooray), we decided to have a quick look in the church (also off the car park). The Church of St Peter & St Paul, a round-tower church, has a little display inside about the excavation and finds unearthed from the adjacent site and some lovely stained glass windows that you can only really appreciate from the inside.

One of the stained glass windows in the church.

So there you go, a fews hours of outdoors-ness and appreciating local history. Nice. If you were up for it, you could certainly make a full day of it, and enjoy some of the longer walks around the area.

Impressive example of a still-standing Roman fort not exciting enough for you…? Perhaps we should mention that its also haunted. Apparently, the 27th of April each year is accompanied by the sound of swords clashing and the screams of Saxon warriors as they are slaughtered in some bloody fray. Allegedly a ghostly figure can sometimes be seen falling from the castle ramparts. Additionally, Old Scarfe (a Shuck-like creature named after a Baron Rudolf Scarfe, a 13th Century villain who lived near the Castle) also haunts the grounds and nearby roads. You can spot him by his single eye that glows red and yellow…

In summary then, if you like fast rides, bright lights and Hollywood-esque cinematic-style stimulation, this won’t be a day out for you (unless of course, you spot Old Scarfe, which I’d imagine would be a pretty white-knuckle affair). However, if you like wildlife, great views, fresh air and a good dose of history, then it’s not a bad little afternoon excursion. And with no entry fees (and no gift shop), its no pounds well spent.

View out towards the Windmill.

Basically open all year round. Plenty of parking (free at time of writing).

Most of site is fairly accessible to wheelchairs and pushchairs.

Dogs on leads are permitted (please clean up after your dog if required!).

Location: Far west end of Breydon Water, 3m west of Great Yarmouth. Postcode: NR31 9pZ.

'Broads Walk' signpost.