Dramatic waters and Romans

My first visit to the Lakes (yes, I am slow) included Wast Water and this view of the scree slope plumetting into its dark waters. I know drama (or a memento mori) when I see it and pay due attention.

We drove then towards Hardknot Pass at least in part because there was a Roman fort marked on the map. Eyes left in anticipation of a few scattered rocks recalling a military order of long ago or a wilderness watchtower over acres of not very much. The road rises as if with spiritual ambitions. Did I say 'road'? It was about a foot wider than the car and kept trying to shake us off. I dropped down to first gear and strained on upwards. Eventually we see a car parked and a small group wandering as-if-aimfully across the hillside. We do likewise and find this!



A classic Roman fort, the same size as Housesteads on the Wall, that would have housed a cohort (about 500 men). It might have been called Mediobogdum, which I, for one, don't think it deserved. I am, as always, lost in admiration for the sheer bloodymindedness of it all, the we'll-build-it-just-the-same-as-we-would-on-the-Padana-Plain nonchalance.

This is the view looking towards Hardknot Pass.


And this is looking west.


Tagged: Lakes, Romans