Play The Roman Way

Board Games, Chariot Racing and 1,700 Years of Leisure

Chedworth Roman Villa is one of the largest Roman villas ever excavated in Britain, and the families who lived here in the 4th century were seriously wealthy. This summer the National Trust is leaning into that fact — not with guided talks, but with the games those families actually played.

The Summer of Play programme runs daily through the school holidays. In the upper courtyard there is a chariot racing arena. Board games including Rota, Nine Men's Morris and Five Lines are laid out as Romans would have known them, alongside giant versions of the same games for younger visitors. Hoop rolling, bean-bag pot shots inspired by a Roman latrine, and large-scale block puzzles round it out.

It is all set against Chedworth's intact mosaics, bathhouses and hypocausts, so the history stays present even when the kids are engrossed in a board game.

Normal admission applies: £15 adults, £7.50 children, free for National Trust members.

Saturday 18 July 2026 - 31st August 2026 · Chedworth Roman Villa, Yanworth, Cheltenham GL54 3LJ · 10:00am–5:00pm