Green Ore Roman metal-working site

You won't find gift shops or interpretation boards at Green Ore. This is an archaeological site on the Mendip plateau, near Wells, where Roman metalworkers once smelted lead and silver roughly 2,000 years ago. What you get is a patch of moorland scattered with the physical evidence of that industry - lumps of slag, the remains of furnaces, and the kind of landscape that tells its story only if you know what you're looking at.

It's the sort of place that grabs history enthusiasts and archaeologists properly. Walking around, you can trace where the Romans extracted ore, how they arranged their workspace. For casual visitors, though, it might feel a bit sparse. There's no visitor centre, no tidy explanation of what happened here. You're essentially looking at Roman industrial archaeology in the raw.

The site is free to access and you won't need more than 30 minutes unless you're really keen on the technical side of Roman metalworking. Spring or early autumn work best - the plateau can get bog-like in winter, and summer tourism crowds thin out by then. It sits well within a wider Mendip exploration, particularly if you're based at one of the nearby parks around Wells - Cheddar Camping, Cathedral View Glamping, or Wells Touring Park are all within striking distance. Pair it with a proper walk across the plateau or a visit to nearby settlements. Just don't expect it to be a polished attraction. That's rather the point.