Illustration — photo coming soon
Heading up towards Birdlip, you're walking along Ermin Way, a route that carried Roman soldiers, merchants, and supplies for nearly two thousand years.
This wasn't some minor backroad—it was a crucial military and commercial highway linking Corinium, the Roman settlement we now call Cirencester, with Glevum at Gloucester. The road cut straight across the landscape with typical Roman efficiency, and you can still trace stretches of the original alignment today, sometimes running alongside modern roads, sometimes forming part of them.
What makes this section special is the sheer engineering challenge the Romans undertook here. The Cotswold escarpment is steep, and the skill required to build a reliable route across it speaks volumes about Roman road-building expertise. There are no dramatic ruins to explore, but that's rather the point—you're experiencing the actual fabric of Roman Britain, a working road that mattered enormously to the empire.
The landscape does much of the talking for you. As you walk, you get sweeping views across the Severn Vale, and there's something genuinely moving about standing on stones that have carried centuries of footsteps. It's an excellent walking route for anyone interested in how the Romans shaped Britain.
If you want to understand more about the people who used this road, Cirencester is nearby with its outstanding Corinium Museum, and Gloucester also preserves significant Roman heritage. This stretch around Birdlip offers a direct, tangible connection to the ancient world.
Visitor reviews
Every review has a sheep rating. If you have dogs on your account, you can add an optional dog-friendly paw rating when you post.