The Roman Road from Ambleside to Troutbeck

The Romans were never going to miss out on Dunmail Raise - it is by far the easiest passage north through the Cumbrian Fells. The surprise is it so long for this road to be discovered. Its discovery was very much a team effort. In this mid-winter lidar flyover there has been a (virtual) snowfall which has started to melt on some of the south facing slopes.
The first (faint) lidar evidence is north of Ambleside Fort before the road merges into the modern A591 heading alongside Rydal. It takes a short cut over the headland down to Grasmere and the A591 again overlies it until the summit of Dunmail Raise. It then becomes clear to the right (east) of the modern road. Part the route is now under Thirlmere but it is again clear heading past Thirlspot on to St John’s in the Vale. It makes a turn at Threlkeld and evidence again becomes very obvious all the way to the complex at Troutbeck. Here we pause to take a look at the 3 camps and the fort. We leave the road with a look back past Blencathra but it continued on to Old Penrith (Castlesteads). There is no evidence for an east-west Penrith to Keswick road.
Lidar: DEFRA
Bespoke Lidar Software: Mike Aerts
Music: Bensound
Full Details: www.twithr.co.uk