Segontium Roman Fort
About
Caernarfon was a fort town long before Edward I. Cadw says Agricola founded Segontium in AD 77 to hold a regiment of 1,000 auxiliary infantry, linked by road to Chester and Caerleon, and that coins show the Romans stayed until about AD 394, longer than at any other fort in Wales. Later Welsh legend knew it as Caer aber Seint, the fort at the mouth of the Saint, in The Dream of Macsen Wledig. What is there now is the laid-out foundations in open grass, on Constantine Road about 700 metres east-southeast of Y Maes. Check before you walk up: Cadw's page lists Segontium as free and open all year, but its own visitor notice says the fort opens on selected dates as part of a guided tours programme from May to August. Cadw lists those tours at £12, or £10 for members.
Photos
Highlights
- ✓Founded AD 77, held until about AD 394, per Cadw
- ✓Guided tours on selected dates, May to August
- ✓About 700 metres from Y Maes
Tips
- →Cadw's page is inconsistent: 'open all year' and free, but a notice says the fort opens on selected tour dates from May to August. Ring Cadw on 03000 252239 before a special trip.
- →Parking is a few roadside spaces on the main road beside the site, per Cadw.
Best Season
Accessibility
Cadw grades the site Level 2, easy; it can be slippery or muddy underfoot.
More Heritage Activities
Caernarfon Castle
Edward I's castle at the foot of Y Maes, run by Cadw; the Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum is inside.
Caernarfon Town Walls
The medieval circuit round the old town, free to walk round but closed on top for safety.
Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon
Steam to Beddgelert or Porthmadog from the station under the castle walls.