That didn't go to plan then!

That didn’t go to plan then. We visited Langport, Somerset today with the intention of having a tour around a recently discovered Roman Villa. We drove along the Somerton Road towards the site and were suddenly aware of double-parked cars everywhere and people wearing wellies all heading in the same direction. We saw the site entrance and a sign -overflow car park, great.  Sadly, though the queue was huge and nowhere to park with a two and half-hour queuing time and heavy rain on the way. How popular is archaeology? Very by the look of this. 

But thanks to Julie we were aware of Muchelney Abbey literally seven minutes away, so we went to this English Heritage site instead and probably had a more interesting and illuminating couple of hours with passionate volunteers. The moated Abbey was mostly destroyed during Henry VIII’s Dissolution, a small portion remained and was used as a farmhouse. Some great displays and foundations give a good idea of its scale. The remaining buildings are no longer part of a farm complex and have been restored one being the Abbot’s accommodation and the other the Latrines. 

It was a shame we didn’t see the Roman Villa, and particularly the ritual horse burial, but Muchelney made up for any disappointment.