AS a “cheerful amateur historian”, Andrew McCloy thought he knew quite a bit about the Romans - but he figured without the snails and the elephants.

The elephant, he discovered, was the beast of choice specially imported when the Romans pushed into Britain and established their first permanent settlement on a hill above the River Colne - it's the town we know today as Colchester.

Such tactics were the Roman equivalent of shock and awe.

“It must have been terrifying to see invaders riding these animals that you'd never seen before,” confirms the author of a new book called Exploring Roman Britain. “I think I would have turned tail and run as fast as my legs would have carried me.”

The snails popped up, so to speak, when he went to the Cotswolds to research a Roman villa at Chedworth.

“The man from The National Trust said 'Have you heard about these?' and he lifted up some hostas and there were these large snails - about twice the length of normal garden snails, and with a lighter shell. They're called Helix pomatia and are Europe's largest terrestrial snail. Apparently this type of snail was brought over to Britain by Julius Caesar's army. Once they've been introduced to a particular location, they tend not to move very far, and they like chalky soil.

“The Romans used to eat them by boiling them with garlic and some milk, seasoned with Mediterranean herbs and spices. Apparently they were kept in darkened rooms and fattened up on milk - and also given salt, to keep them thirsty. After guzzling on the milk they became so bloated that they couldn't get back into their shells - at which point they would be popped into the pot.”

Andrew wasn't tempted to do as the Romans did. In any case, the snails are apparently a protected species.

His book takes the reader on a series of walks around places that have strong Roman links: from Hadrian's Wall in Northumberland and bleak Hardknott Fort in the Lake District, to the dead-straight and pretty Peddars Way route in Norfolk and towns such as Chester and York.

Locally, of course, there's Colchester, aka Camulodunum and the oldest recorded town in Britain.

When Claudius led his forces into the heartlands of Britain in AD 43, he headed for this important tribal centre that had been the capital of King Cunobelin's territory.

“When most of the Roman troops departed a few years later, Colchester went on to become a thriving civilian town - the Romans' first colonia, or highest-ranking settlement in the province,” says Andrew.

“It was officially named Colonia Claudia after the emperor, pre-dating even the founding of London by a handful of years. In this respect, Colchester can claim to be the original capital of Roman Britain.”

He had been to Colchester before, but on his research visit was overjoyed to discover the delights of the castle museum, which he reckons is one of the most impressive Roman museums in the country. “It ranks right up there with the one at St Albans and is really user-friendly. You can pull on a toga, for instance - and my daughter (Jenny, 11) thought it was fantastic to be able to lock up her father with long chains and a collar as if he were a slave!

“There is also the replica chariot thought to be similar to the one used by Boudicca. Exhibits like that really give people a flavour of what it must have been like to live in Roman times. The thing with history is that visitors need to be helped with some kind of insight into what life used to be like, because often there is not that much left to see; so this museum does very well in that respect.”

History graduate Andrew, now 41, was captivated by the subject from an early age. Family holidays away from Surrey - along with school trips and cub outings - would invariably include visits to National Trust properties, museums and suchlike.

There's been widespread interest in Roman culture. In recent times we've had Adam Hart-Davis's BBC series What The Romans Did for Us, and the drama Rome. What particularly captured his imagination?

“I think I was always interested in the Romans and their empire: the scale, the grandeur. It was fascinating to think of an empire that stretched throughout greater Europe - and then, in four centuries, they had gone from Britain and we were into the Dark Ages.”

It is, he laughs, impossible not to think of the John Cleese character in the film Life of Brian - the one who repeatedly asked “What have the Romans ever done for us?” ­- but the truth is that they did a lot.

“It was a civilisation from two millennia ago that was ahead of its time. Even with something like herbs and spices . . . they might not have discovered them, but they brought them to this country and popularised them.

“Then there is the grid layout of streets that in many places has survived to today, heating systems, and aqueducts. Many A roads still follow the line of the original Roman roads. There are a lot of things, many of which we take for granted today. The Romans are even responsible for the three-course meal!”

Occupation effectively came to an end once the active legionaries were called back to defend the beleaguered empire in mainland Europe, although many veterans stayed behind and became part of the population.

“Old soldiers retired there and many married local women, and although it might have got watered down a bit, Colchester has got some pretty good Roman blood there,” Andrew smiles.

“To some people, four centuries might seem a long time, but in terms of history it's a drop in the ocean. Despite that, the Romans were greatly effective in bringing the locals round to their way of life.

“And much has endured. Look round the kitchen and see where we'd have been without them; without our trendy wine and a drop of olive oil. That's not a bad legacy!”