Sites for families and children
If you’re planning a visit with younger children, here are some of the top sites that will keep all the family entertained.
If you are short on time, or simply want an introduction to the Antonine Wall, what is the best site for viewing the surviving Roman remains?
The following lists highlights the best places where each major type of wall feature is visible on the ground today alongside museums in the local area where you can learn more.
Rough Castle
If you can only visit one Antonine Wall location, make it Rough Castle. This site features the best-preserved fort, with defenses and an annexe, as well as the tallest surviving portion of Antonine Wall Rampart, excellent Ditch profiles, and the only known example of lilia defensive pits.
Learn more about Rough Castle >
Bearsden
Visit Bearsden for exposed and preserved remains of a Roman bathhouse and latrine.
Learn more about Bearsden >
Bar Hill
Bar Hill is the highest fort on the Antonine Wall, with good views in all directions, some preserved fort remains, and an adjacent Iron Age fort. Bar Hill offers the best views of the Antonine Wall in its wider landscape setting.
Learn more about Bar Hill >
Kinneil
Visit Kinneil for the only visible example of an Antonine Wall fortlet. Also stop by the Kinneil Museum and, if open for viewing, Kinneil House.
Learn more about Kinneil >
Callendar Park
Callendar Park offers long open stretches of the Antonine Wall Ditch, as well as an excellent museum within Callendar House.
Learn more about Callendar Park >
Watling Lodge
Visit Watling Lodge off Tamfourhill Road for the best-preserved section of the Antonine Wall Ditch, which survives almost to original dimensions. A Roman fortlet was located in the gardens of Watling Lodge.
Learn more about Watling Lodge >
New Kilpatrick Cemetery, Bearsden
Two sections of the Wall’s stone foundation are preserved and visible, making New Kilpatrick Cemetery the best location to see this essential aspect of the Antonine Wall Rampart.
Learn more about New Kilpatrick Cemetery, Bearsden >
Seabegs Wood
Visit Seabegs Wood for good views of the Antonine Wall Ditch and Rampart, as well as the best-preserved visible remains of the Military Way.
Learn more about Seabegs Wood >
Tollpark & Garnhall
Between the forts at Castlecary and Westerwood lies one of the longest continuous stretches of the Antonine Wall that can be seen today.
Learn more about Tollpark & Garnhall >
Hunterian Museum, Glasgow
Opened in 1807, the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery at the University of Glasgow is Scotland’s oldest public museum. Of particular interest to those visiting and studying the Antonine Wall is ‘The Antonine Wall: Rome’s Final Frontier’ gallery. It has the largest collection of artefacts from the Antonine Wall than any museum in Scotland.
Learn more about Hunterian Museum, Glasgow >
National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh
The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh is Scotland’s largest museum, featuring a wide range of exhibits relating to Scotland, Europe, and the rest of the world. Highlights relating to the Antonine Wall include an altar dedicated to Hercules Magusanus that was found near Mumrills fort, a glass intaglio of the god Bonus Eventus from Auchendavy, and the original Bridgeness Distance Slab—the largest and most elaborate sculptured stone from the Roman frontier.
Learn more about National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh >
Kinneil Museum, Boness
Located within the 17th-century stable block of Kinneil House, the Kinneil Museum serves as an interpretation centre for the Kinneil Estate and the town museum for Bo’ness. The museum tells the story of Kinneil from the Roman period until the more recent past and highlights the presence of the Antonine Wall, which runs adjacent to the museum, and the Roman fortlet on the estate.
Learn more about Kinneil Museum, Boness >
Callendar House, Falkirk
Callendar House is a stately home dating from the 14th century, situated within the extensive Callendar Park estate. It now houses a public museum with permanent displays that tell the history of Callendar House and Falkirk District. The Antonine Wall, Rome’s Northern Frontier features a wide range of artefacts from, and information about, the Antonine Wall and the Roman period in Scotland. A long stretch of very visible Antonine Wall ditch is located within the park just north of Callendar House.
Learn more about Callendar House, Falkirk >
Auld Kirk Museum, Kirkintilloch
Located within an old church that is Grade A listed and dates from 1644, the Auld Kirk Museum (adjacent to Peel Park in Kirkintilloch), features Roman artefacts from the Antonine Wall and Bar Hill fort, as well as other objects that reveal the social, industrial, and everyday activities of the people who have lived in East Dunbartonshire over the past 4000 years.
Learn more about Auld Kirk Museum, Kirkintilloch >
Trips along the wall
If you want to go off the beaten track or explore more of the wall, then our cycling, walking and driving guides could help you plan your journey.
School trips
Planning a visit to the Antonine Wall with your class? Find out our tips to help you plan your trip.
