Monmouth (Wales)
Monmouth (Welsh: Trefynwy) is the county town of Monmouthshire in Wales.
Understand
Monmouth is a delightful, bustling, market town near where the three rivers Wye, Monnow and Trothy meet on the border with England. On a sunny day it can be packed with tourists strolling up and down the narrow pavements of Monnow Street, Agincourt Square and Church Street. It has an iconic 🌍 fortified bridge which has relieved of motor traffic by the building of a second bridge over the Monnow after the cattle market closed. Little is left of the Norman castle around which the town grew.
Monmouth museum displays artefacts associated with Admiral Lord Nelson and Charles Rolls of Rolls Royce fame.
The whole town has free Wi-Fi, as a result of Monmouthpedia, a project to use QRpedia QR codes "to provide multilingual smart phone access to Wikipedia articles covering notable subjects in Monmouth, such as places, people, artefacts, flora and fauna" according to Wikipedia. This 2012 project led to Monmouth being described as the "world's first Wikipedia town".
- 🌍 Tourist Information Centre (Canolfan Croeso), Shire Hall, Agincourt Square, NP25 3DY, ☏ +44 1600 775257.
Get in
By bus
There are buses from Newport, Abergavenny, Chepstow, Hereford, and many towns in the Forest of Dean. For detailed timetables.
By coach
National Express coach 323 calls daily at Monmouth - in the morning on its route via Ross-on-Wye, Worcester and Birmingham towards Liverpool, and in the evening on its return run towards Newport and Cardiff.
By train
Since there is no train station, Chepstow and Abergavenny are the best options. Both stations are about 30 minutes drive away. Faster trains call at Newport and Bristol Parkway
Get around
The closest railway station is Abergavenny which is on the Cardiff to Manchester line.
See
- 🌍 Kymin, ☏ +44 1600 719241, kymin@nationaltrust.org.uk. Impressive view of Monmouth and the surrounding countryside. Free.
- 🌍 Skenfrith Castle, Skenfrith, near Abergavenny, NP7 8UH (7 miles north west of Monmouth), ☏ +44 1874 625515, skenfrithcastle@nationaltrust.org.uk. Free.
Do
- Offa's Dyke Path follows the entire Welsh border up hill down dale. Its south terminus is at Chepstow; it follows the east river bank and plunges through Tidenham Tunnel to Tintern; this section is also called Wye Valley Walk. From there it crosses the fields for ten miles to Monmouth, continuing north to Pandy.
Buy
- 🌍 Marks & Spencer. High quality clothing, especially underwear, at reasonable prices with a liberal exchange policy.
Eat
- 🌍 The Whole Earth Cafe Bistro, White Swan Ct., ☏ +44 1600 715555.
- 🌍 La Piccola Italia, 100 Monnow St, ☏ +44 1600 712527.
- 🌍 The Whitebrook, Whitebrook, ☏ +44 1600 860254.
Sleep
- The Bell at Skenfrith, Skenfrith NP7 8UH (next to Skenfrith Castle), ☏ +44 1600 750235, enquiries@skenfrith.co.uk. 17th century inn with rooms, the Sunday lunch gets great reviews. B&B double £150.
- 🌍 Number Seven Church Street, 7 Church St, NP25 3BX, ☏ +44 1600 712600, enquiries@pregomonmouth.co.uk.
- The Lancaster Arms Guest House, Old Hereford Road, ☏ +44 1873 890699. On the A465 approx. 6 miles north-east of Abergavenny. This is a country guest house, just off the Offa's Dyke Path. £150-200 per room.
- Bechers Cottage, The Farr Farm, Newcastle NP25 5NF, ☏ +44 1600 750677, farrfarm@waitrose.com. A 5-star cottage £360-595.
- Kings Orchard Caravan Park, Withy Lane, ☏ +44 1600 714186, mhoaten@aol.com. Holiday caravan park, approximately one mile from the town centre.