Ravenglass Bath House
Lake District National Park
What is it?
One of the best-preserved Roman military bath houses in Britain.
Why it is special?
The 1,000-strong Roman army based at the nearby fort of Ravenglass came here to scrub up after a long, hard day patrolling the frontier of the Roman Empire. The walls stand nearly 4m high and two rooms with doorways survive. Excavations have revealed more rooms and plumbing for hot and cold baths – and saunas.
www.visitcumbria.com/wc/rbath.htm
Tell us something we didn’t know
Ravenglass was known as Glannaventa. It was a major Roman naval base and regional supply point for 300 years.
The bath house, now called Walls Castle, is almost all that remains of the base.
The troops based at Glannaventa were part of the Empire’s auxiliary army, fighters from provinces conquered by the Romans, rather than legionaries who were Roman citizens.
How to get there
Ravenglass Bath House is less than 1 mile south east of Ravenglass, which is on the A595 in west Cumbria. By rail, the Cumbrian Coast Line from Carlisle to Barrow-in-Furness stops at Ravenglass.
