This fort is just outside Callendar, 9 miles from Doune Roman Fort to the southeast, and controls the Callander pass. It was one of the glen blocker forts established during Agricola’s invasion of Scotland in the 80s AD.
Visit Bochastle Roman Fort
📍 Location: Bochastle, just outside Callander, Stirlingshire
👁 What survives: The fort earthworks can be traced in the landscape, although they are not monumental standing remains.
⭐ Best for: Seeing one of the Flavian ‘glen-blocking’ forts in its Highland-edge setting.
🥾 Visit: A countryside visit with uneven ground; combine it with the Bochastle forest trails.
🏛 Nearby Roman places: Doune, Drumquhassle and the route towards the Highlands
Bochastle at a glance
| Occupation | Flavian period, late first century AD; precise foundation and abandonment years remain uncertain. |
| Garrison | Unknown. |
| Size | Approximately 3 hectares (7.4 acres), as described below. |
| Troop estimate | Around 700 is the guide’s working capacity estimate. |
Inscriptions
No unit-identifying inscription is cited in the site account.
References
Early writers have referred to a ‘Roman Camp’ at Bochastle, and in 1949 excavations began on the site. The earthwork was found to be an original Roman fort (occupying an area of about 3 ha) with a rampart built on a turf base, with a single ditch outside it and normal entrances in the centre of each side. It would have housed around 700 troops.
Pottery and other finds, although few, indicate a 1st-century date and undoubted Agricolan origin.
References
Bochastle | Canmore
