Day four

Next morning we drove to the site of Bothwellhaugh where the fort's substantial stone-constructed bath house is displayed in Strathclyde Regional Park, (re-positioned after the creation of an artificial lake (Strathclyde Loch!) on South Calder Water. On then to Glasgow, through the city and to the northwest where the Bearsden (New Killpatrick/Hillfoot) cemetery contains excellent stretches of the stone foundation of the Antonine Wall, so necessary for stability in a turf-and timber wall.

The culverts placed in the foundation to drain ponded water along the wall were also evident. Nearby, the Bearsden fortress baths are now smack in the middle of modern suburbia but again, the familiar elements of Roman military baths make their appearance, peeking out from
underneath nearby buildings. Our bus then took us on a drive westward following roughly the path of the Wall towards the Clyde River, looping north around modern Glasgow. It's important to note that both Glasgow and Edinburgh (as towns) were non-existent when the Antonine Wall was constructed so the wall's route responds to Roman military and geographical considerations rather than reflecting the location of a modern metropolis. Originally the afternoon was scheduled for a visit to the great display of Roman wall markers in the Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow, however the museum was closed for preparation for
a BBC event. Having visited the museum in 2001, I can say that the museum is definitely worth the visit, though the display area very much reflects the original 19th century sense of what a museum should be.

After settling into our hotel 10 blocks northwest of the city centre in
the early afternoon, tour members had a free afternoon (rather rainy at
times) to explore the centre of Glasgow on foot.