Cirencester Amphitheatre

Following on from my trip to Cirencester Abbey Grounds Park a few weeks ago, my parents and I visited another interesting outdoor area in Cirencester this week: the Roman amphitheatre.

Although I've lived near Cirencester my whole life (excluding my university years), I'd never been to the amphitheatre before. I'm not sure why! I guess it's often the case that we explore a lot more in the areas we travel to on holiday compared to our local areas. But I put it on my list of outdoor places to visit during this lockdown and I'm glad I finally went, as it was a very interesting and educational place to see.

The amphitheatre is owned by English Heritage and is free to visit. And fortunately, it's a good place to visit during this pandemic, because visitor numbers are relatively low and it's a very open space, so social distancing is easy.

The first thing you see when you arrive is the obelisk, which is said to date back to the 18th century. It brought back memories for me of my trip to Buenos Aires in February and seeing the famous obelisk in the city centre. How I would love to be back there now!

The actual Roman amphitheatre building is no longer standing, but the shape of it still remains in the earth. There are several signs around the area with interesting information about the site. During Roman times, Cirencester, then known as Corinium Dobunnorum, was the second biggest city in Roman Britain after London! The amphitheatre is said to have been built in the 2nd century, and would have seated 8000 spectators. It is crazy to think that this relatively small town used to be one of the big centres of the Roman Empire.

The nature around the amphitheatre is also really nice to see.

All in all, I really enjoyed finally visiting this important historical site. It may not be possible to travel far from home at the moment, but places like this give us the opportunity to travel into the past!