Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
MONMOUTHSHIRE
(SIR FYNWY)
You need only ponder the preponderance of castles to realise that this pleasantly rural
county was once a wild frontier. The Norman marcher lords kept stonemasons extremely
busy, erecting mighty fortifications to keep the unruly Welsh at bay. Despite this stone line
marking out a very clear border along the Rivers Monnow and Wye, the 1543 second Act
of Union left Monmouthshire in a kind of jurisdictional limbo between England and Wales.
This legal ambiguity wasn't put to rest until 1974 when Monmouthshire was definitively
confirmed as part of Wales.
The River Wye, Britain's fifth-longest, flows from the mountains of Mid-Wales, tootles
its way into England and then returns to the middle ground - forming the border of the two
countries - before emptying into the River Severn below Chepstow. Much of it is desig-
nated an area of outstanding natural beauty (
www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk
), famous for its
limestone gorges and dense broadleaved woodland. The most beautiful stretch lies between
Monmouth and Chepstow, along the border between Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire.
WYE VALLEY WALK
The
Wye Valley Walk
(
www.wyevalleywalk.org
)
is a 136-mile riverside trail running from the river's source on
the slopes of Plynlimon (Pumlumon Fawr) to Chepstow. The section downstream from Monmouth, past Tintern, is
particularly beautiful.
Following the lush borderland between Wales and England, the route passes through some magical places: as
well as Tintern, you'll encounter Ross-on-Wye, Symonds Yat and Hay-on-Wye.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Chepstow (Cas-Gwent)
POP 14,200
Chepstow is an attractive market town nestled in a great S-bend in the River Wye, with a
splendid Norman castle perched on a cliff above the water. The town is also home to one of
Britain's best known racecourses.
