Nilfanion, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do · Cirencester
Cirencester Roman Amphitheatre
The grassy banks of a Roman amphitheatre built early in the second century to hold about 8,000 people, free to visit in daylight on the edge of Cirencester.
Dog-friendly · Car-free
Pair it with the Corinium Museum: see the mosaics, then walk out and stand where 8,000 Romans sat. Free, and dogs on leads are welcome.
- Good: Free, open every day of the year in daylight
- Good: Free car park at the east end of Cotswold Avenue
- Good: Dogs on leads welcome
- Worth knowing: Steps at the entrance and uneven ground; not suitable for wheelchairs
- Worth knowing: No toilets or café on site; both are in the town centre
About
On the edge of Cirencester are the grassy banks of the amphitheatre of Roman Corinium, built early in the second century AD to hold about 8,000 people, when the town was second only to London in Roman Britain. After Roman rule ended it was fortified against the Saxons, its entrances narrowed and a ditch dug. It is an English Heritage site, managed by Cirencester Town Council on English Heritage's behalf.
There are no buildings to see: what survives is the grassed-over bowl of earth banks, and the interest is its size. The finds from Corinium are in the Corinium Museum in the town centre, so the two make a good pair: the museum first, then the amphitheatre.
Entry is free and the site is open every day in daylight, with a free car park at the east end of Cotswold Avenue. Dogs on leads are welcome. There are steps at the entrance and the ground is uneven, and there are no toilets or refreshments on site; the nearest are in the town centre.
Opening hours and season
Open every day of the year during daylight hours. Free entry; no booking.
Facilities
- Car parkFree, at the east end of Cotswold Avenue
- Dogs welcomeOn leads
The details
- History
- Built early in the second century AD
- Parking
- Free car park at the eastern end of Cotswold Avenue, beside the site.
Photos
The amphitheatre banks 
The arena 
The amphitheatre in snow 
The north-west bank Photo: Ethan Doyle White, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Location
Places to stay nearby
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The King's Head
Hotel · Cirencester
A former coaching inn on Cirencester's Market Place with 63 bedrooms, one of Brakspear's Honeycomb Houses, open from 7am daily, with dog-friendly dining.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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Cotswold Hare
B&B · Cirencester
A bed and breakfast with seven en suite rooms on Victoria Road, Cirencester, with a parking space for every room, for adults and children over ten.
Verified Nov 2026
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The Fleece
Inn · Cirencester
An inn with rooms on Cirencester's Market Place, run by Thwaites, with stays from £125 a room and dogs welcome in the bar.
Verified Oct 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- Igloo 0.8 km away
- Sam & Jak 0.8 km away
- New Brewery Arts 0.8 km away
- Black Horse 0.8 km away
Sights nearby
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Cirencester Park
Sight · Common or park · Cirencester
The Bathurst family's landscape park on the western edge of Cirencester, planted from 1714 by the first Earl Bathurst with Alexander Pope: 8km of rides and woods along the Broad Ride, with Pope's Seat and Alfred's Hall. Grade I registered; a day pass is needed.
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St John the Baptist, Cirencester
Sight · Church · Cirencester
Cirencester's great wool church on the Market Place, free to visit: a fifteenth-century tower you can climb on set Saturdays, a three-storey porch of about 1490 that served as the town hall, fan vaults, medieval glass and the Boleyn Cup. Grade I.
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Pope's Seat, Cirencester Park
Sight · Historic building · Cirencester
A small stone pavilion of the early eighteenth century at Seven Rides in Cirencester Park, with a Doric portico and POPE'S SEAT cut in its pediment, named after the poet who helped Lord Bathurst lay out the park. Grade II*; a park day pass is needed.