Basingstoke (Sorbiodunum), and by another Roman road that linked Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum) in the north with Winchester (Venta Belgarum) to the south. These cross-cutting highways, along with the good agricultural land hereabouts, account for the many “Roman” villas in the area, mostly put up by Romanized native nobility (Roman villa). Even more ancient was the Harrow Way, a Neolithic trackway, possibly associated with the ancient tin trade, that crossed all of southern England from west to east, from Cornwall to Kent, passing right through Andover and Basingstoke. The precise size and shape of Basingstoke today are difficult to identify, as it
Venta de Baños the same sort of iconic status as other great railway junctions of the world, such as Crewe in the UK. Before the advent of dedicated high-speed rail routes and cheaper air travel, it was the principal transfer point for travellers between the north-east and north-west regions of Spain and the south. Generations of railway passengers have memories of the waiting rooms and cafeteria at Venta de Baños. The town hosts an annual international cross country running competition, the Cross Internacional de Venta de Baños, which has featured some of the world's foremost cross country athletes including Kenenisa Bekele and Palencian-born