Monmouth and the old bridge...

Tuesday, 17^th May – (Catch-up)

Ian, from the B & B, suggested we check out Hampton Court (Hereford) garden, but as we drove past, the sign indicated it would not open until 10.30, and we were passing it at 9.30am, so we decided to go on to Monmouth, and later the Forest of Dean, on the way to Gloucester. 

The A466 was a bit windy and narrow in parts, but quite scenic, and we went through a little village called St.Weonards, and had a good giggle about that one.

Monmouth is a beautiful town, and the main street id quite wide, which makes a nice change, (especially after having seen a program on TV about the “death of small businesses in the High Street”, it didn’t seem to have affected Monmouth!  In a long main street of about half a mile, there were only three empty shops, and two of these had already been re-let, whilst in the third, there were people inside, discussing a possible layout).

 

Good coffee at a place called Coffee #1, and a walk along the main street. At the bottom of the street, there is an old bridge, upon which is a medieval gate (archway/gatehouse), right in the middle of it, the Monnow Gate, and is supposed to be the only surviving medieval bridge in Britain. The gatehouse/bridge was built in 1270 across the river Wye, and was called Pont Mynwy in Welsh.