Silchester Roman City Walls and Amphitheatre
Silchester, Hampshire
A complete circuit of Roman town walls round an empty field, free, giving you and your dog a mile and a half of quiet field path with the walls alongside.
Silchester is the Roman town that nobody rebuilt, and that makes it unique. Calleva began as a centre of the Iron Age Atrebates and became the important Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum after the conquest of AD 43. Then it was abandoned, and unlike every other major Roman town in Britain it was never reoccupied or built over. What survives is the complete circuit of the town walls, among the best preserved Roman defences in England, enclosing what is now simply farmland.
As you follow the walls and take in the separate amphitheatre outside them, your dog gets one of the best free sites in the south: the wall circuit is roughly a mile and a half of quiet field path with the walls beside you most of the way, so it is a genuine walk rather than a monument stop, and it is rarely busy.
Free and permanently open. There is no official guidance on dogs here. The walls enclose working farmland which is often grazed and the amphitheatre sits in a separate field, so keep your dog on a lead, close gates and check for livestock. Parking is limited near the church, and there are no facilities.
At a Glance
- Site Type
- Roman Site
- Entry
- Free
- Members
- Free for English Heritage members
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Planning Your Visit
Opening times and prices were checked on 26 August 2026 and are subject to change, and some sites close for events or over winter. Confirm on the English Heritage site page before you travel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Silchester Roman City Walls and Amphitheatre dog friendly?
Yes, dogs are welcome here, and it makes for a genuinely good outing rather than a quick monument stop. The wall circuit gives you and your dog around a mile and a half of quiet field path, and the site is rarely busy. That said, the walls enclose working farmland that is often grazed, so keep your dog on a lead and close any gates as you go.
Are dogs allowed at Silchester Roman City Walls and Amphitheatre year round?
The site is free and permanently open, so you can visit at any time of year. There are no restrictions on access tied to the season, though as working farmland it may have livestock present at any point, so a lead is sensible whenever you visit.
What should I know before visiting Silchester Roman City Walls and Amphitheatre with my dog?
The land inside the walls is working farmland and is often grazed, and the amphitheatre sits in a separate field nearby, so keep your dog on a lead throughout and be diligent about closing gates. There is no official dog guidance on site, no facilities, and parking is limited near the church, so it is worth arriving prepared. On the plus side, entry is free and the site is quietly uncrowded, making it one of the more relaxed historic visits you can do with a dog in the south of England.
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