Travel Reference
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Around Monmouth
Raglan
The last great medieval castle to be built in Wales was the magnificent Raglan Castle (Cadw;
01291-690228; www.cadw.wales.gov.uk ; adult/child £3/2.60; 9am-5pm Apr-Oct, 9.30am-4pm Mon-Sat,
11am-4pm Sun Nov-Mar; ) . Designed more as a swaggering declaration of wealth and power
than a defensive fortress, it was built in the 15th and 16th centuries by Sir William ap
Thomas and his son, the Earl of Pembroke.
A sprawling complex built of dusky pink sandstone, its centrepiece is the lavish Great
Tower, a hexagonal keep ringed by a moat. It bears a savage wound from the civil wars of
the 1640s, when it was besieged by Cromwell's soldiers - after its surrender the tower
was undermined, until eventually two of the six walls collapsed.
The impressive courtyards beyond the Great Tower display the transition from fortress
to grandiose palace, with ornate windows and fireplaces, gargoyle-studded crenellations
and heraldic carvings.
Raglan is 8 miles southwest of Monmouth and 9 miles southeast of Abergavenny. Bus
83 from Monmouth (20 minutes) and Abergavenny (25 minutes), and bus 60 from Mon-
mouth and Newport (36 minutes) stop here; it's a five-minute walk to the castle.
Skenfrith
A chocolate-box village of stone buildings set around a hefty castle and ancient church
and skirted by the River Monnow, Skenfrith encapsulates the essence of the Monmouth-
shire countryside. Skenfrith Castle (admission free; 24hr) was built around 1228 by Hubert de
Burgh on the site of earlier Norman fortifications. Its keep and walls remain reasonably
intact and there are no barriers to prevent you entering and picnicking on the central lawn.
 
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