The weather over the first two weekends of December has been pretty grim, at least, it has been where we are in North Yorkshire. We have had some lovely, crisp, sunny days – we’ve just been stuck at work for them! After what looked like a promising forecast, again last weekend ended up being a total washout. Not wanting to spend two weekends in a row stuck inside, we decided to make a quick dash out somewhere local before the heavens opened on Sunday. After all, we said after our recent foray to Rievaulx Abbey that we’d make more of an effort to visit some local spots, and therefore Sam suggested that we drive up to Piercebridge to have a look at the Roman remains there.
There are actually two Roman sites in Piercebridge, the remains of a bridge which previously crossed the river Tees and the ruins of a fort. Parking is free in a large (pot hole-y) car park next to the George Hotel. At the back of the car park, there’s a low wall with some steps down the other side. We hopped over the wall and picked up a well surfaced path, which runs for a few hundred metres to arrive at the remains of the Roman bridge.
Around 90 AD, the Romans built a timber bridge to cross the river here. The original structure was swept away a long time ago, but you can still see some of the remains of the bridge today. It seems like an odd location for a bridge, with the river being a few hundred metres away, but the river has actually changed its course in the time since the Romans first built this bridge. We spent about 10 minutes exploring the site (there’s not really that much to see here), before retracing our steps back to the car park and setting out towards the fort.
Once part of a chain of forts along Dere Street, the main supply route between York and Hadrian’s Wall, there’s not a huge amount left of the fort at Piercebridge. There is enough however, to get an idea of what it might have been like two thousand years ago, with some helpful information boards around the site to give you an idea of what the different parts of the site were used for.
Overall we spent just less than an hour exploring and walking between the two sites, which worked out perfectly timing wise as it started to rain (again) just after we got back to the car. Both sites can be reached fairly easily on foot from the George Hotel car park, and it made a nice change not to have any slogs uphill! I wouldn’t say this is a ‘must visit’ attraction, but if you’re in the area and looking for a way to pass a bit of time at a free dog friendly attraction, or to go on a weekend dog walk which is a bit different from the norm, Piercebridge is definitely worth considering.
Dog friendly rating – 3.5/5. Beyond the small wall to hop over from the car park to see the bridge, there are no stiles on this walk, and no other obstacles for them to navigate. You could possibly let your dog off on the enclosed lane sections leading up to the sites, however, these are fairly short and your dog will need to be kept on a lead when on the sites themselves. You’re also more likely to come across more people and other dog walkers than on a longer countryside walk, which is something worth bearing in mind if your dog doesn’t like busier places – although arriving early will mean you’ll see less people.
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