Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Nearby, a squat tower announces 750-year-old
St Bridget's Church
, accessed by a low
wooden door with a foot-high step.
The riverside village pub, the Bell at Skenfrith, has had a gastro makeover and is now
an esteemed restaurant serving upmarket country fare (mains £15 to £19), with lots of the
produce coming from its organic garden. The pub produces its own walk pamphlets (50p)
- one route leads over the English border to
Garway Church
, which is adorned with
swastikas and mason's marks from its Knights Templar past.
Skenfrith is 8 miles northwest of Monmouth via the B4233, B4347 and B4521. There's
no public transport to these parts.
Sleeping
Bell at Skenfrith
( 01600-750235;
www.skenfrith.co.uk
; r £110-220; )
A picturesque village getaway, the Bell
has an acclaimed restaurant and elegant rooms, all named after fishing flies. Some have
four-posters but all marry an antique feel with contemporary comfort. Be sure to book in
for lunch or dinner at the pub.
INN
£££
Grosmont
Pressed from a similar mould to Skenfrith, although its contours are a little more rugged,
Grosmont is another charming and character-filled village set amid the classically beauti-
ful Monmouthshire countryside. Its
castle
(admission free)
has the same history as Skenfrith's,
although de Burgh completed this one 24 years earlier. The ruins are very picturesque, set
behind a deep moat with an elegant 14th-century chimney jutting out.
Two protected species of bats live in the belfry of ancient
St Nicholas Church
. Its church-
yard is well worth an idle wander, while the
Angel Inn
( 01981-240646;
www.grosmont.org/group/
the-angel-inn
;
The Street; 6-11pm Mon & Wed, noon-11pm Tue, Thur, Fri & Sat, noon-10pm Sun)
is the
centrepiece of the village and is never short of good beer and friendly locals. If you feel
like stopping, there are excellent rooms above Gentle Jane tearooms.
Grosmont is 5 miles northwest of Skenfrith along the B4347.
Sleeping
