The adventure continues through the Welsh countryside, in search of churches, ruins, castles, and a town devoted to books.
Day 25 was a jam-packed day full of awesome, one of my favorite days of my adventure. Wales deserves more time than what I gave for this wonderful area, southern Wales especially. Day 25 brought me to a church, abbey ruins, a town devoted to books and even a couple of castles. So much to see, so little time.
My route on Day 25 of my Around Great Britain in 30 Days Adventure.
Stop 1: Brecon Cathedral
Brecon Cathedral is a wonderfully tiny cathedral. It started life as an abbey church back in 1093, with much of the building dating to 1215. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII, in the 16th century, it became a parish church, later being converted into a cathedral in the 20th century.
Lovely little Gothic cathedral. I love the churchyard garden.
Can definitely see the Gothic architecture in this church.
I love this baptismal font. It features the Green Man and the Tree of Life. Green Man imagery is left over from Europe’s pagan past. He represents rebirth and renewal, and is found all over the Europe in churches, which is kind of weird.
There was also a cemetery on the grounds, which is awesome. Sorry, I’m a total cemetery nerd.
Stop 2: Hay-on-Wye
Who couldn’t love a town dedicated to the written word? Located, on the River Wye, just inside the Welsh border with England, Hay-On-Wye is a small town of less than 2,000 people, and around thirty bookshops. A publicity stunt in 1977 changed the town forever, so now it’s full of bookshops.
There are bookshops starting next to the car park.
Not only does Hay-On-Wye have bookshops, it even has honor stalls in order to buy books.
The town’s bookshops carry both new and used books at a good rate. Anyone can find something they would enjoy here.
For more on Hay-On-Wye, check out this post.
Stop 3: Llanthony Priory
The ruins of Llanthony Priory are in an extremely picturesque area along the Welsh/English border. Located in the Bale of Ewyas, the priory was founded back around 1100 CE. The large church was one of the great medieval buildings in Wales. Even in ruins, the priory is super impressive.
The road to Llanthony Priory was amazing. One of the reasons I loved it there so much.
The ruins were incorporated into a house, now the Abbey Hotel.
It would have been a giant church.
Awesome ruins.
I love this view of the Welsh countryside through the ruins.
Stop 4: Monmouth
Now onto Monmouth. I stopped here mostly to grab something to eat and see a couple of smaller sites. The town is famous for its medieval bridge (which I completely missed, apparently) and for being the birthplace of King Henry V in 1387.
Got to show off the town’s royal connections.
Just a traditional British pub in the town center.
After eating some chips (French fries to non-Brits), I walked over to see the ruins of Monmouth Castle.
I should have eaten my lunch in the lovely garden next to the castle.
Stop 5: Tintern Abbey
Yes, stop 5. I told you it was a jam-packed day. Tintern Abbey was founded in 1131, on the banks of the River Wye. The abbey featured a giant church that of course fell into picturesque ruins after Henry VIII got rid of all the monasteries.
The abbey church was absolutely huge. It’s amazing that this much of the front façade still exists.
Standing in the abbey ruins looking out towards that huge abbey church. Much more of the church remains here than at Llanthony Priory that’s for sure.
All the triangle marks in the walls are where other buildings would have been attached to the church. Most abbey churches were not stand-alone buildings, but often had cloisters attached that led to more abbey buildings.
Entryway into the abbey church.
Looking up towards the altar of the abbey church. Much of the walls remain, although the central tower is now gone.
Now looking back towards the rear of the church. The central columns on the right are now gone, but you can see what the side aisle would have looked like.
Stop 6: Chepstow Castle
My final stop of the day was Chepstow Castle, the oldest surviving post-Roman stone fortification in Britain. Construction began on the castle within a year of the 1066 Norman invasion. It overlooks the River Wye, a recurring theme of Day 25. Chepstow Castle was completely abandoned after the English Civil War.
Chepstow Castle is kind of unique. It doesn’t follow the normal plan of a Norman castle. The castle design is stretched out along the riverbank, the towers were added at different times and there was no central keep.
I love this giant front tower. Super imposing.
You are allowed to explore the innards of the castle. While mostly in ruins, there are some rebuilt areas.
Rooms were built into the castle walls, leaving the center open.
The reconstructed castle lord’s quarters.
A reconstructed hall in the lord’s quarters.
The great hall.
Such an extremely large, gorgeous castle. You can spend hours roaming around this place.
Chepstow Castle ended my long day of exploring Southeastern Wales. There is so much more that I missed, like Brecon Beacons National Park and a ton of other castles (the rebellious Welsh created a need). So rent a car and explore the countryside. You won’t regret it.
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Start at the beginning of my 30 days around Great Britain!
