This is the fourth in a series of events taking us to the sites of forts in Derbyshire, with this one bringing us to the small Roman fort at Castle Hill, Pentrich.
Forts were commonplace in Derbyshire from the Iron Age through to the Roman occupation & beyond. They pre-date more substantial castles, which were introduced by the Normans. Although forts were built primarily for defence, settlements often grew up around them & when the soldiers moved on, these settlements sometimes remained. Others were abandoned & are now hardly recognisable.
Situated in a commanding position in the Derwent Valley, beside the original main road between Chesterfield & Derby, the site here consists of a small rectangular earthwork, alignigned north-south, with gateways originally positioned at each end. There is little to be seen on site but it has been estimated that the fort dates from the middle of the First Century, possibly during the campaign of Aulus Didius Gallus although it is likely that there was a larger enclosure here prior to that. The Romans may have used this simply as a signal station, with their important silver mines just a couple of miles up the valley at Crich.
This event will allow us to meet up safely outdoors to chat & exchange trackables in hopefully beautiful & peaceful surroundings. This is a very rural setting, with extremely limited opporunities for parking nearby & I suggest you try to street park either in Oakerthorpe to the north or Pentrich to the south & walk to the event. Please try to lift share where at all possible & park responsibly. I have provided various footpath waypoints to help with your approach.
There are quite a few caches dotted around the area if you haven't found them already & some of these could easily be combined with a longer walk starting from Oakerthorpe.