sign in sign up
<<
Home , Ashperton, Bagstone, Bagwyllydiart, Brockweir, Charles Heath (Monmouth), Chepstow Castle

The INSPIRATIONAL VALLEY The Birthplace of British

www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk Contents

3 Foreword - Introducing the Wye Tour 4 Inspirational Valley – Birthplace of British Tourism Introducing 6 The Picturesque Movement 8 Wye Tour Boats the Wye Tour

The Tour 10 Ross-on-Wye 10 Goodrich 11 Yat Rock Ross-on-Wye 12 13 14 Lower 15 Whitestone 16 Abbey 18 Devil’s Pulpit 19 Eagle’s Nest 20 Piercefield Yat Rock 22 Castle Sir Roy Strong & Lettice, Paul Brason

24 Inspirational Breaks Monmouth The Kymin 26 Rooms with a View 28 Map 30 What’s On 31 Artists’ Paraphernalia 32 Art Galleries 33 Notes and Credits

Grid References Whitestone Outdoor Leisure Map OL14 Wye Valley & 1:25,000 covers the whole of the Wye Tour area and all grid references relate to this map. Safe Exploring Note: Some of the walks in this guide can be steep, slippery and precipitous. Take a map, and Devil's Pulpit wear stout shoes and suitable clothing.

Eagle’s Nest

www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk Piercefield

Chepstow Castle

2 3 In 1745 a rector from Ross-on-Wye, Dr , was the first to build a boat especially to take his guests on excursions down the Wye. By the late eighteenth century there were at least eight boats operating on a commercial basis, in response to growing demand from tourists. Much of the demand was a direct result of a book, the first tour guide to be published in Britain in 1782, entitled Observations on the and Several Parts of South , by William Gilpin. Gilpin took the Wye Tour from Ross to Chepstow in 1770 and wrote, “if you have never navigated the Wye, you have seen nothing.” Part of the popularity of the Wye Tour was that tourists viewed the valley from boats on the river and Observations started the fashion for ‘picturesque tourism’ - travel which focused on an appreciation of scenery rather than just history or architecture.

“if you have never navigated the Inspirational Valley Wye, you have seen nothing.” Birthplace of British Tourism William GilpinWilliam Gilpin, 1782 Increasing interest in, and appreciation of, Britain’s landscapes helped make History of the Wye Tour Gilpin’s book an instant success and brought many visitors, including artists, writers and poets to the Wye Valley. Many kept journals and diaries which In the late eighteenth and early provide a wonderful insight into their travels: Samuel , William Coxe, nineteenth centuries it was , Thomas Martyn, Thomas Roscoe, Leitch Ritchie, Louisa Ann fashionable to take a boat tour Twamley and Mr and Mrs S C Hall were amongst many who recorded their down the Wye Valley, to view its observations on the Wye Valley. Wordsworth, Turner, Philip de Loutherbourg, Michael ‘Angelo’ Rooker and Coleridge left inspiring records of their own trips romantic sites and picturesque in paintings, poetry and prose. By 1850 over twenty guidebooks had been landscape. ‘Tourists’ dined at published, firmly establishing the Lower Wye Valley as the birthplace of specific locations, took walks to modern British tourism. particular viewpoints and visited Today the Wye Valley is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural To view a digital version of specific romantic ruins, making Beauty (AONB), recognised as one of the nation’s most treasured Thomas Martyn’s ‘A tour to the ‘Wye Tour’ one of the first ’ 1801 visit: landscapes. Although still a favoured touring destination, the Wye Valley ‘package holidays’! http://www.llgc.org.uk/drych/ is seen mostly from a car or coach window, although short boat excursions 1. Tintern Abbey drych_s068.htm 1 3 still leave from and can be hired from a number of 2. View of the Wye from Chepstow 4 Castle, locations along the riverside. 5 3. has a history, Online archive resource for Wales 2 6 Audrey Hart, 2005 visit: www.gtj.org.uk We hope this guide will help you to enjoy the most ‘picturesque’ sites visited 4. The Wye at Lydbrook, Audrey Hart, 2005 by the early tourists. Some of the views are remarkably similar today, others 5. The Wye at Coldwell Rocks, show considerable change in the landscape, but one thing all the sites still Jim Meenaghan, 2005 have in common is their ability to inspire. 6. Wye Valley Tour – On Reflection, Julian Wimpenny, 2005

4 5 Gilpin was a pioneer in the appreciation of landscape in Britain and his ideas had a lasting effect on the way we came to view the landscape. He developed a set of rules for the Picturesque movement:

“the most perfect river-views are composed of four grand parts: the area, which is the river itself; the two side-screens, which are the opposite banks, and lead the perspective; and the front-screen, which points out the winding of the river..... They are varied by... the contrast of the screens....the folding of the side-screen over each other...... the ornaments of the Wye.... ground, wood, rocks, and buildings..and colour”. William Gilpin Observations on the River Wye, 1782 William Gilpin The Picturesque Movement and Landscape Painting in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

There were two types of landscape Travellers in search of the Picturesque had some essential items in their painters in eighteenth and nineteenth luggage, which were deemed necessary to control the untamed century Britain; topographical artists landscapes they encountered! A piece of tinted glass, called a Claude Glass, a pedometer, a telescope, a barometer, maps, memorandum (photographers today) and picturesque books, tour journals, sketch books, drawing pads, a watercolour set, artists who produced romantic and pens and pencils, and a pocket edition of William Cowper’s poems were sublime paintings. At this time the essential requisites for a tour. The Claude Glass was a convex mirror ‘Picturesque’ meant literally, a scene about four inches wide on a black foil. It miniaturized the reflected landscape, so that detail was lost except in the foreground, thereby which would make a painting, but it helping painters to simplify what they saw. Many tourists used the came to be used outside the context of glasses to manipulate the landscape: a sunrise glass when used at 1 art and painting, having a major influence midday gave a dawn view! As Gilpin wrote, Picturesque practice always 3 on garden design, landscape fashions involved some ‘improvement’ of the landscape. 4 2 5 and ornamental walks. Designers were 1. View of Chepstow from Piercefield, G E Madeley c1840, Chepstow Museum Gilpin described a number of significant views which could be seen encouraged to think like artists, especially 2. Interior of , detail of engraving from the river, as well as other sites which could be explored on foot. from drawing by George Robertson, 1787, when planning ‘enhancements’ to the Chepstow Museum This guide aims to introduce you to some of the work of the original 3. Tintern Abbey, (detail) Gilpin, 1782, Wye Tourists, and to some contemporary interpretations of these views, landscape on country estates such as Nelson Museum, Monmouth including pictures by members of today’s flourishing Wye Valley Art Piercefield, one of the most famous 4. View of the from Lovers Leap, Piercefield Park, G E Madeley, Chepstow Museum Society and other artists who took part in an open competition landscape parks in eighteenth century 5. Chepstow Castle, detail of engraving organised by the Society. The selected paintings from this competition from drawing by Thomas Hearne, 1798, Wales and a highlight of the Wye Tour. Chepstow Museum feature in a travelling Wye Tour exhibition.

6 7 “My ‘light bark’ was not much unlike a gondola, when its tarpauling cover was spread over the framework; but being favoured by a randomly bright morning, I prefered sitting under the skeleton and enjoying the charming scenes around me. A table in the centre of the part alloted to passengers, and cushioned seats around, made this small floating parlour a most commodious conveyance.”

Thomas Roscoe Wanderings and Excursions in South Wales, c1830s The Wye Tour Boats Thomas Roscoe

Boats were the preferred method of From the 1770s boats were available to take visitors down the Wye travel for the Wye Tour and vessels throughout the summer months. Boats were hired from inns in Ross and Monmouth. The boat owner provided food and wine to be enjoyed on were specially constructed for the the trip which generally took two days going downstream. There was a growing tourist trade. They were crew of three (one to steer and two to row), but boats frequently had to light and could be used with or be hauled over shallows and rapids by gangs of ‘bow hauliers’. Stops without a sail. They were equipped would be made at the well known sites so that tourists could explore or walk to viewpoints high above the river. The period 1770 to 1830 was with a canopy, padded seats and the heyday of the Tour, which became over-commercialised and much a table to sit at, so that tourists less leisurely in the later nineteenth century. could paint, draw or write as they 1. , Samuel Ireland, 1797, Chepstow Museum 4 1 2. Tintern Abbey, engraving by W Radclyffe after Copley Fielding from ‘Wanderings took in the scenery. 5 in South Wales….’ By Thomas Roscoe, 1837, Nelson Museum, Monmouth 6 2 3. Advert from the Beacon newspaper, late 19th century, 7 3 Nelson Museum, Monmouth 4. Tour boat at , detail from engraving, 1861, Nelson Museum, Monmouth 5. Tintern, engraving from ‘The Wye, Narrative of a Pedestrian Ramble’ by Leitch Ritchie, 1841, Nelson Museum, Monmouth 6. Bow Hauliers on the Wye (detail). Nelson Museum, Monmouth 7. Coldwell Rocks, engraving by W Radclyffe after David Cox from ‘Wanderings in South Wales….’ By Thomas Roscoe, 1837, Nelson Museum, Monmouth

8 9 Ross-on-Wye

Goodrich Castle Ross-on-Wye Yat Rock Traditionally Ross was the start of the Wye Tour. At Coldwell Rocks many tourists left their boats and walked up to the viewpoint at Yat Rock whilst the crew rowed the boat around the four Yat Rock The riverside was a busy place. Pleasure boats left mile loop to New Weir to meet the tourists on the other side. from the river bank near the Hope and Anchor for Monmouth The Kymin the trip downstream to Monmouth and Chepstow. “…. In due time we gained the platform of rock crowning the narrow ridge, and I was well rewarded for my toils and tumbles, by Lord Nelson was just one of many who took the tour from Ross in the grand view spread around; with the Wye winding about below, 1802. The Royal Hotel, a well known local landmark high above the and almost making an island of the lofty point on which I stood.” river, was the favoured place to stay at the start of the Wye Tour. Louisa Anne Twamley An Autumn Ramble on the Wye, 1839 Whitestone

Today Yat Rock is an internationally famous viewpoint which continues to delight visitors of all ages. Often busy with tourists, Tintern Abbey Devil's Pulpit Yat Rock also attracts ornithologists keen to catch sight of the peregrine falcons who have chosen to nest on nearby Coldwell Rocks. Eagle’s Nest From April until August there is a Peregrine Viewing Point. RSPB staff Piercefield and volunteers are on hand with telescopes, to tell visitors about the

Chepstow Castle peregrines – the fastest birds in the world.

Goodrich Castle 1. Monmouth, watercolour by David Cox, 3 1809-1885. Nelson Museum, Monmouth 1 4 2. Goodrich Castle from the Wye, “one of the grandest on the river, I should Jim Meenaghan, 2005 William Gilpin 2 3. The Viewers, Audrey Hart, 2005 not scruple to call correctly picturesque” 4. Twilight at Yat Rock, Gordon Luscombe, 2005

William Gilpin Access Between Ross and Monmouth Gilpin felt that the view of Goodrich Access Access is from the A40 at Whitchurch or Castle was “one of the grandest on the river, I should not scruple Goodrich Castle is just off the A40, from the B4432 north of Coleford. Follow to call correctly picturesque . Two hundred years ago tourists signposted with brown castle signs. There brown tourist signs to Symonds Yat Rock. ” is a large car park from where it is a 400 enjoyed the view of Goodrich from the river before leaving their Access to Yat Rock is via a footpath from yard walk to the entrance to the Castle, the main Forestry Commission car park at boats at the ferry house and walking up to the castle. Today’s which is in the care of English Heritage. Symonds Yat. visitors can explore the castle’s interior, with its views out over There is an admission charge. the Wye. Grid Reference www.english-heritage.org.uk 564 160 Grid Reference 579 199

10 11 “I shall not attempt to describe the unbounded expanse of country which presents itself around and beneath, and embraces a circumference of nearly three hundred miles. The eye satiated with the distant prospect, reposes at length on the near views, dwells on the country immediately beneath and around, is attracted with the pleasing position of Monmouth, here seen to singular advantage, admires the elegant bend and silvery current of the Monnow, glistening through meads, in its course towards the Wy, and the junction of the two rivers, which form an assemblage of beautifulWilliam objects”. WilliamCoxe Coxe An Historical Tour in Monmouthshire, 1801 Monmouth The Kymin Monmouth was the half way stage on During the Picturesque movement it became the Tour and most tourists stayed at one fashionable to build summerhouses at sites with of the inns in Agincourt Square, although spectacular viewpoints. With one of the best views a few slept on their boats. As well as Ross-on-Wye around, the small two-storey circular Georgian exploring the town and The Kymin, banqueting house that stands on top of The Kymin, excursions were also made to other Goodrich Castle was built in 1794 by the Monmouth Picnic Club. Access ‘romantic ruins’ nearby, including Take the A4136 from Monmouth towards and Abbey. Guests who came here received instructions on how to observe the Coleford and the Forest of Dean. After nearly one mile turn sharp right signposted Yat Rock views in the correct Picturesque manner. A Naval Temple was built in for The Kymin. Follow this road, which is 1801 and when Nelson visited Monmouth the following year, long narrow, windy and steep in places, to the top of the hill and the car park. (Note car The Nelson Museum Monmouth The Kymin four-pounder guns boomed out from the Temple to greet him as his tour boat from Ross came into view on the river below at park closing times - it may be locked early The Nelson Museum and Local History Centre in Priory autumn/winter afternoons.) From the car Street has a reference library which visitors are Reach. Nelson enjoyed a ‘handsome’ breakfast in ‘The Round House’ park walk up to the Round House and welcome to use by appointment. The collection includes as it is known locally. The site is now owned by The viewpoint, past the Naval Temple. (www.nationaltrust.co.uk) and it is the view, extending over much of some of the original Wye Tour journals such as Gilpin’s Grid Reference rural Monmouthshire, which continues to be the biggest attraction. Observations, and paintings, engravings and prints, 528 125 including work by Michael ‘Angelo’ Rooker. Whitestone The grounds are open daily from dawn to dusk. The Round House is open from the end of March until end of October on Saturdays, 1. View from The Round House 1 Sundays and Mondays. 2. , c.1800, watercolour by Michael Angelo Rooker, 1746-1801, Tintern Abbey 2 3 Nelson Museum, Monmouth Devil's Pulpit 3. The Kymin, detail from oil painting by Eagle’s Nest John Arthur Evans, 1854-1936, Nelson Museum, Monmouth Piercefield

12 Chepstow Castle 13 Ross-on-Wye Goodrich Castle Lower Whitestone

Yat Rock It is thought that the views from Whitestone and Wye Valley Cleddon inspired Wordsworth to write “Lines Monmouth The Kymin composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey”. Below Monmouth the Wye flows past several He commented that “no poem of mine was small rural villages which in the eighteenth and composed under circumstances more pleasant nineteenth centuries were important industrial for me to remember than this”. Whitestone settlements. The river was the focus of travel and remains a very pleasant place to spend some time, Whitestone trade as there was no road through the valley enjoying the views from the conveniently placed between Chepstow and Monmouth until 1828. benches along the woodland trail. Access Tintern Abbey Devil's Pulpit From Llandogo take the Road Boat building was an important industry in the villages of , (beside the shop), climbing up out of the Eagle’s Nest village. After about 11/2 miles there is a Llandogo and Tintern. The larger local boats, flat-bottomed barges Forestry Commission car park on the right. Piercefield known as , could sail as far as Brockweir where cargoes were Park here and follow the main track up the Chepstow Castle unloaded onto smaller boats to be carried upstream. Coracles were hill passing the adventure playground on also a common craft on the river. your right. Take the path on the far left of the upper car park heading up hill with the valley on your right. There are three Surprisingly the scenes of industrial activity along the Wye were viewpoints along the route, each providing considered Picturesque by the tourists. Redbrook’s iron and tin works a more spectacular view over Llandogo. ‘gave animation to the romantic scenery’ thought Archdeacon Coxe At the third viewpoint follow the track around to the left as it joins another when he visited in 1799. At wire and paper were forestry road. Continue along this straight manufactured and, “Within half a mile of it (Tintern Abbey) are section until the main path bears right. carried on great iron-works, which introduce noise and bustle into left and follow the path down a rocky these regions of tranquillity” wrote Gilpin. He was referring to the descent back into the lower car park. Angidy Ironworks which had made Tintern an important industrial Five years have passed; five summers, with the length Grid Reference centre for over 300 years. Following Henry VIII’s dissolution of the 524 029 (car park) monasteries, Tintern would have faded into obscurity but for the fact Of five long winters and again I hear that the Crown chose to establish a foundry for brass and iron in the Angidy Valley. At its peak over 600 people were employed in Tintern. These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs 4 Along this lower stretch the valley is largely forested, one of the With a soft inland murmur. Once again 1 3 main changes in the landscape over the past two hundred years. Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs, 2 At the time of the Wye Tours much of the woodland was coppiced

to feed lime kilns and furnaces. Trees were also felled for bark, used That on a wild secluded scene impress 1. Redbrook, engraving from ‘The Book of the in the tanning industry and for timber, especially for pit props in the Wye, South Wales and the Coast’ by S C Thoughts of more deep seclusion, and connect Hall, 1861, Nelson Museum, Monmouth Dean mines. Many conifers have been planted since World War I, 2. Llandogo, lithograph by T M Baynes after although this is nothing new. “Will it never be known that firs in The landscape with the quiet of the sky. W H Bartlett, Chepstow Museum groups are like plumes on the graves of the Picturesque?” wrote 3. The View from Whitestone 4. Llandogo, engraving from ‘The Book of the Fosbrook in 1818. Wye, South Wales and the Coast’ by S C WilliamWilliam Wordsworth Lines Wordsworth composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey, 1798 Hall, 1861, Nelson Museum, Monmouth 14 15 Ross-on-Wye Many tourists were initially dismayed by the un-Picturesque beggars and hovels surrounding the Abbey. Grose disapproved of, the ill- Goodrich Castle “ placed neatness of the poor people who show the building, and by whose absurd labour the ground is covered over by turf as even and trim as a bowling-green, which gives the building more of an air of an Yat Rock artificial ruin in a garden than that of an ancient decayed abbey.”

Monmouth The Kymin However once inside, the Abbey delighted all. Thomas Roscoe wrote: “the rich heavy folds of Nature’s most graceful drapery, luxuriant ivy, which adorns the lofty aisles and of this majestic edifice, and scarcely suffers us to regret that it is a ruin. Small ferns and flowers of many hues spring from wall and buttress, and the presiding genius of such spots, the fragrant and beautiful wall flower wanders Whitestone over arch and window, decking them with its fair garb of green and gold, and crowning the decaying pile with a halo”. Thomas Roscoe Wanderings in South Wales, including the river Wye, 1836 Tintern Abbey Devil's Pulpit Once the railway arrived in 1876, Tintern became even more accessible Eagle’s Nest as an ‘excursion’ destination. In the 1880s it was not uncommon for Piercefield over a thousand people to arrive by train on September evenings to

Chepstow Castle view the harvest moon rising through the Abbey’s rose window.

".....the most beautiful and picturesque view on the river.... It occupies a great eminence in the middle of a circular Tintern Abbey valley, beautifully screened on all sides by woody hills, William Gilpin, 1782 through which the river winds its course." Built by Cistercian monks in 1131, Tintern Abbey was the architectural WilliamAccess Gilpin highlight of the Wye Tour, a tourist 2 Tintern Abbey is on the A466. There is 1 3 destination since the 1750s when a large car park adjacent to the Abbey. The cleared the Grid Reference 4 5 interior of the Abbey and laid a 533 022 lawn to make it easier for visitors to view the ruins. 1. Tintern Abbey, side aisles looking north, detail from lithograph by L Haghe, Chepstow Museum 2. Autumn Lights, Christine Hunt, 2005 3. Tintern Abbey by moonlight, c.1900, Chepstow Museum 4. Tintern Abbey, D Mariana Robinson, 2005 5. North View of Tintern Abbey, engraving by Rev. I Gardnor & J Hill after drawing by Rev. I Gardnor, from ‘A History of Monmouthshire’ by David Williams, 1793, Nelson Museum, Monmouth 16 17 “On the opposite bank of the river, an ancient entrenchment runs some distance along the ridge of the hill, and one angle, commanding “the river here forms a splendid view of Tintern and the fair almost a circle and the vale around it, is dignified by the appellation rocks richly wooded an amphitheatre, over of the ‘Devil’s Pulpit’.” which a wide extended Thomas Roscoe Wanderings in South Wales, 1836 country appears spread out including the river Devil’s Pulpit Eagle’s Nest Severn beyond.” Joseph Farington This narrow pillar of limestone near the edge of The Eagle’s Nest is a spectacular viewpoint, high The Wye Tour of Joseph Farington, 1803 the Wye gorge has magnificent views over above the Wye at Wyndcliff, looking out over the Tintern Abbey, and was a popular site with the sweeping curve of the river around the Circular Route Wye Tourists. Legend has it that the ‘pulpit’ was Peninsula. In the distance the river winds out to It is possible to take a circular route, returning via the 365 steps, by turning used by the devil to cajole the monks toiling the Severn. The Wyndcliff was, in effect, the start left at the bench on your way back down the hill. At the bottom of the steps follow below and persuade them to join him! (or finish) of Valentine Morris’s Piercefield Walk, the path back round to the car park at Ross-on-Wye the highest point on the walk with the grandest Upper Wyndcliff. Although the view of the Access For the less able there is a very short Abbey is kept clear today by Access to Devil’s Pulpit, only about a view. Coleridge, one of the Romantic poets, path on the right of the Upper Wyndcliff mile above the river, is on foot up a Goodrich Castle the Forestry Commission, it is described the Wyndcliff view as “the whole world car park which leads to a bench with fairly steep ascent. Start from the evident that the area was much views over the river. footbridge over the River Wye imaged in its vast circumference”. more open when Thomas adjacent to Abbey Mill. Cross the Grid Reference Roscoe and his contemporaries bridge and follow the path around Yat Rock Access 527 974 to the right for a short distance. visited in the nineteenth There are two routes; The first via the strenuous 365 Steps, starts at the Lower Turn left between the metal century. The hillsides behind Monmouth The Kymin Wyndcliff Forest Enterprise car park adjacent to the A466, just north of St Arvans. Follow posts and continue upwards. signs across the road up the 365 steps. At the top turn right at the bench along the Wye the Abbey on the Welsh side After a level area, continue upwards Valley Walk. The sign for Eagle’s Nest is on the right. of the river were also much again, looking out for a painted stone 1 3 on the ground saying ‘Devil’s Pulpit’. less forested than nowadays. For a gentler climb start from the Upper Wyndcliff car park, which is reached via a 2 Take a left turn here up a fairly Notice also how the Abbey is lane off the A466, 1⁄2 mile north of St Arvans. The car park is on the right after about rough, tortuous path which crosses 1⁄2 mile. Take the footpath on the left at the back of the car park which is signposted for surrounded by more cottages a forestry track and continues Eagle’s Nest and - 350yds. Follow this stony path uphill, without turning and houses in W H Bartlett’s upwards. On reaching the Offa’s Whitestone off the main route (unless you want to sneak a peep at the view) until reaching the Dyke Path turn right and Devil’s sign for Eagle’s Nest off to the right. Go down the steps to the viewpoint where there 1. The Vale of Tintern from the 1845 lithograph. The ‘hovels’ Devil’s Pulpit, W H Bartlett, 1845 Pulpit is about half a mile is a bench. have gone today, but there 2. Tintern Abbey from Devil’s Pulpit, further along. Jim Meenaghan, 2005 are intrusions into the Tintern Abbey Note how thick woods now obscure the cliffs and exposed rock along the right bank of Grid Reference Devil's Pulpit the river, cliffs which were clearly visible in the nineteenth century picture. Note also the 3. View from the Wyndcliff, picturesque landscape: car compressed detail from engraving, similarities and changes in the hedges and field layout of the farmland on the left bank parking, tarmac, the visitor 543 995 Eagle’s Nest Chepstow Museum of the river. This farm was bought by the Piercefield Estate in order to protect their views centre and souvenir shops! Piercefield across the valley!

Chepstow Castle 18 19 “One of the sweetest vallies ever beheld lies immediately beneath, but at such a depth, that every object is diminished, and appears in miniature. This valley consists of a complete farm, of about forty inclosures, grass and corn fields, intersected by hedges, with many trees; it is a peninsula almost surrounded by the river, which winds directly beneath, in a manner wonderfully romantic; and what makes the whole picture perfect, is its being surrounded by vast rocks and precipices, covered with thick wood down to the very water’s edge.”

Arthur Young A six week tour through the Southern Counties of and Wales, 1768

The racecourse is now on your left. Follow structure with the remains of iron railings the track and then bear right heading on the top and a yew tree growing out of it! towards . Standing with Yew trees now obscure the view over the your back to the ruined house the view river. Keep on the main path through more Piercefield looks out across the Severn . woodland and after a while you will come to some railings on the left and glimpses of Walk on directly in front of the house for This walk takes you across Piercefield Chepstow Castle. A little further on you will about 100 yards with the fence on your find ‘The Alcove’ on the right, looking out Estate, retracing paths laid out by Valentine left. Cross the stile and follow the footpath over the river, the Castle and the new down to meet the Wye Valley Walk. Turn . Morris in the eighteenth century. Morris’s right onto the Wye Valley Walk and keep on picturesque walks had viewpoints and this path, passing through a laurel tunnel. Much of this view remains unchanged, Ross-on-Wye Access Look out for ‘The Grotto’ on the right, though the noise of traffic, and the new features along the route and were extremely Park in Chepstow Leisure Centre car park, surrounded by laurel. The view is now bridges over the Wye and the Severn popular with tourists. In fact, Piercefield just off the A466 near Chepstow completely obscured by laurel trees. highlight two centuries of ‘progress’! Goodrich Castle Racecourse gates. Leave the car park on became an unmissable attraction on the foot and walk back towards the main road. Continue along the path, and after a down Continue up the steps, following the path Turn right heading back towards the hill section you reach a logging track. Turn which turns off to the left through the wall, Wye Tour as Gilpin wrote, “Mr Morris’s racecourse roundabout. Turn right right onto the track and then after about and along the fenced pathway passing the immediately after a drive on the right called 100 yards turn left down the path and school on your right before returning to your improvements at Persfield.... are generally Yat Rock ‘The Cloisters’, taking a footpath through through another laurel tunnel. Keep on this starting point in the Leisure Centre car park. thought as much worth a traveller’s notice, an archway in the wall. On reaching the main path and as the track bears right Monmouth through a cutting you will see ‘The Grid Reference as anything on the banks of the Wye.” The Kymin gravel track keep straight on with a wall on your right hand side. Follow this track Platform’ on the left, a dressed stone 530 948 through the woodland (you might just catch Many of Morris’s features remain, including on this walk, a glimpse of Piercefield House in the distance through the trees) until reaching a ‘The Grotto’ a semi-circular cave decorated with stones and gateway/kissing gate. Go through the gate “…..The town and castle of cinders, ‘The Platform’ and ‘The Alcove’. You can continue into open parkland. This was part of beyond these sites to Wyndcliff on the Wye Valley Walk. Valentine Morris’s Piercefield Park, where Chepstow appear from one part Whitestone many eighteenth century artists painted. Gilpin painted an earlier house, this house of the bench, rising from the being redesigned in the late eighteenth romantic steps of wood, in a Tintern Abbey century by Sir . It has been in Devil's Pulpit 1. Piercefield Mansion & Park, c.1840 ruins since the 1920s. 1 G Eyre Brooks, Chepstow Museum manner too beautiful to express.” Eagle’s Nest 2 2. Piercefield Panorama, Arthur Young A six week tour through the Jennifer Bannister, 2005 Southern Counties of England and Wales, 1768 Piercefield

Chepstow Castle

20 21 Ross-on-Wye

Goodrich Castle

Yat Rock

Monmouth The Kymin

Whitestone

Tyntern Abbey Devil's Pulpit

Eagle’s Nest Louisa Anne Twamley An Autumn Ramble on the Wye, 1839 Chepstow Castle Piercefield Chepstow Castle

Today Chepstow has a thriving artistic scene. Art on the Railings In the late eighteenth century the takes place on the first Saturday of the summer months which ruins of Wales’ first stone built castle, includes displays by more than 200 artists with a variety of different styles. (www.artontherailings.co.uk) spectacularly sited on cliffs above the Wye, provided inspiration for many Access Chepstow Museum, just across the road from the Castle is worth a There is easy access to the Castle from visitors, including Turner. Chepstow visit having an inspiring collection of engravings, prints and paintings the Bridge Street car park adjacent to the was the highlight at the end of the by artists who took the Tour. Quotes from journals and diaries of the Tourist Information Centre at the bottom time are on display alongside paintings in an exhibition entitled of Chepstow. From here you can walk Wye Tour, “so uncommonly down to the riverside or across the Wye Chepstow Castle, the artist’s eye and the visitor’s view. Many of the Bridge, from where the best views of the excellent, that the most exact critic historical pictures in this guide are held in the collections of Chepstow Castle can be obtained. There is also a in landscape would scarcely wish and Monmouth Museums and can be viewed by appointment. permissive path across the fields on the side of the river, looking to alter a position in the assemblage across the Wye to the Castle, a favourite of woods, cliffs, ruins and water”, “I went to the Bridge and made a drawing view with artists. commented Wyndham. of the Castle which occupied me four hours. Grid Reference The view forms a very picturesque composition 535 942

1. Chepstow Castle revisited, Annabel Clements, 2005 the parts of the Castle appearing united so as 1 2. First Court, Chepstow Castle, detail from lithograph by J Newman, c 1845, Chepstow Museum to make a well collected mass of large objects.” 2 3 3. Chepstow Castle, Susanna Birley, 2005 4 4. Chepstow Castle, detail from aquatint by Paul Sandby, Joseph Farington The Wye Tour of Joseph Farington, 1803 1775, Chepstow Museum

22 23 Inspirational Breaks Egwyliau Ysbrydoledig

Watercolour tuition In the footsteps Mynnwch Learn to paint and enjoy watercolour painting tutored Bach Travel offer the opportunity to retrace the steps of by international artist Tony Slater, in inspriational the first tourists, including those of the artist, Turner, and Be inspired yr awen surroundings at The Abbey Hotel, overlooking the the poet, Wordsworth; to discover what attracted and majestic Tintern Abbey. The five day breaks are fully inspired them to take ‘The Wye Tour’. The short break Pack your paints and Paciwch eich paent i fynd inclusive of tuition, accommodation and all meals. includes a day tour of the inspirational sights of the Wye www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk ✆ +44 (0) 1291 689777 Valley area and 2 nights’ accommodation. Choose to stay capture the Picturesque! i dynnu llun y Pictiwrésg! either at a 3★ historic hotel in the Wye Valley, or a 4★ Watercolour workshops country B&B with historic links to Tintern Abbey. We’ve selected a range of artistic Rydym wedi dewis amrywiaeth o D Mariana Robinson, a popular watercolour artist based Transport to and from mainline stations can be provided. in Tintern, offers a variety of one and two day watercolour www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk ✆ +44 (0) 1495 785712 offers and venues you won’t be able gynigion artistig a chanolfannau na workshops for groups of between 4 and 8 painters in the to resist, as well as suggesting places fedrwch eu gwrthod, yn ogystal ag Wye Valley. Enjoy a few days in tranquil surroundings, Woodcraft to stay so you can follow in the painting at your own pace. Workshops can be arranged Rectory Cottage, with inspirational views across the Vale awgrymu lleoedd i aros fel y gallwch on a tuition only basis or as a hotel package staying at of to the Wye Valley and surrounded by spacious footsteps of the early Wye tourists. ddilyn yn olion troed y twristiaid cynnar the Florence Hotel, Bigsweir. grounds, offers 4★ B&B accommodation. Dating from the Several hotels, mentioned in diaries i Ddyffryn Gwy. Mae nifer o westai, a www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk ✆ +44 (0) 7748 690096 16th century, the house is believed to be built on land that once belonged to Tintern Abbey. The lay brothers and journals of tourists over two grybwyllwyd yn nyddiaduron a dyddlyfrau Painting in the Beacons mined iron ore and ran sheep on the hillside above; they hundred years ago, continue to twristiaid dros ddau gan mlynedd yn ôl, Stay in one of two four star self-catering cottages with also quarried stone in the next valley. The living room has welcome visitors today and we’ve yn parhau i groesawu ymwelwyr heddiw log fires and superb views over the Brecon Beacons, a floor of ‘monks’ tiles’. Try a taster session or improve and enjoy one of a wide range of art courses, run your skills with a wood-turning or pyrography course. included them here. Choose one of ac rydym wedi eu cynnwys yma. by professional artists and tutors at Broadley Farm. Woodcraft short breaks are offered in association with our specially selected watercolour or Dewiswch un o’n hegwyliau dyfrlliw A spacious studio provides an ideal place to work. Woodland Turnery. There is also an art gallery on site - visitors welcome www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk ✆ +44 (0) 1495 785712 creative breaks, or if you prefer, neu greadigol sydd wedi eu dewis yn by appointment. there’s a wide range of arbennig, neu os byddai’n well gennych, www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk ✆ +44 (0) 1873 890343 1 2 3 accommodation and activity options mae ystod eang o lety a gweithgareddau which can be selected separately. y gellir eu dewis ar wahân. 4 5 6

Only a limited amount of information can be Dim ond ychydig o wybodaeth y gellir ei chynnwys 1. Goodrich Castle, Caroline Downey, 2005 2. Tintern Abbey, Dick Ray, 2005 included here. For a full selection and further yma. I gael detholiad llawn a gwybodaeth bellach 3. View from Piercefield, Susan Peterken, 2005 information and booking details, visit the website a manylion am archebu, ymwelwch â’r wefan 4. Tintern Abbey, M R Charles, 2005 www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk 5. Tintern Abbey, C J Waugh, 2005 6. Tintern Abbey, M R Charles, 2005 24 25 The Old Farmhouse B&B The George Hotel Tor-y-Mynydd Farm (3★) Situated in Llandogo between Many of the early tourists arrived Holiday Cottages Monmouth and Chepstow on the in Chepstow and stayed at Converted stone barn self-catering Rooms with a View A466, about 2 miles north of The George - a coaching inn cottages in the heart of the Wye Valley Tintern Abbey. described by William Makepeace www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk www.wyevalleytheoldfarmhouse.co.uk Thakeray in his Cockney Travels ✆ +44 (0) 1600 860887 Ystafelloedd gyda Golygfa ✆ +44 (0) 1594 531216 in 1842, as ‘one of the cleanest, 'wreaths of smoke' sent up in neatest, cheerfulest, fresh- Vanilla Cottage (5★) silence from among the trees. Tintern -givingest inns to be Luxury holiday cottage on the Llandogo was a port even found anywhere’. is within walking distance before Chepstow and the river The Abbey Hotel (3★) ✆ +44 (0) 1291 625363 of the Craft Renaissance Art Café, was the focus of the village. Previously known as the Beaufort Gallery & Shop. Special Autumn The village still has a pub, Arms and mentioned by Charles Castle View Hotel Leaves and Daffodil Spring Breaks The Sloop Inn, a reminder of Heath in his writings in the early This hotel offers an unrivalled view available. Special artists offer – the village’s maritime past. nineteenth century when it provided of Chepstow Castle, painted by so one free dog place! In the churchyard look out refreshments to parties descending many of the Wye Tourists. Stones www.foxesreach.com for anchors on graves. the Wye by boat. This hotel offers used in the building may have come ✆ +44 (0) 1600 860341 the best ‘rooms with a view’ for from the Castle, just across the Foxes Reach (5★) miles. road, which by that time had fallen The Abbey Hotel, Tintern This luxury holiday cottage is in the www.theabbey-hotel.co.uk into disuse. heart of the Wye Valley just one and ✆ +44 (0) 1291 689777 www.hotelchepstow.co.uk The Angel Hotel (3★) Goodrich Monmouth a half miles from Tintern, and ideally ✆ +44 (0) 1291 620349 Original coaching inn on the London Monmouth was the half way situated for inspirational painting Wye View B&B (3★) to Fishguard road, and the terminus Granton House B&B was once stage on the Tour and most holidays. Take advantage of a Special Charming, ensuite rooms with Vale of Usk for services from Ross-on-Wye. lived in by Joshua Cristal (1823- tourists stayed in one of the Autumn Colours Break or a Spring spectacular views over the beautiful Excursions were also made to Today, it combines friendly and 1841) who was President of the inns in Agincourt Square, Daffodil Break. Special artists offer – river Wye at Tintern. other ‘romantic ruins’ nearby, attentive service with elegant décor Royal Academy Watercolour Society although a few slept on their one free dog place! www.wyeview.co.uk including Raglan Castle and and an award-winning restaurant. and very much part of the boats. The Kings Head Hotel, www.foxesreach.com ✆ +44 (0) 1291 689779 Llanthony Abbey. For many www.angelhotelabergavenny.com Picturesque movement. (now the Kings Head, ✆ +44 (0) 1600 860341 years a coach took tourists from ✆ +44 (0)1873 857121 www.grantonhouse.co.uk Wetherlodge) was one of two Chepstow Monmouth to Raglan as a side ✆ +44 (0) 1600 890277 coaching inns in Monmouth Fairfield B&B (5★) Two of the hotels in Chepstow trip to the Wye Tour. Court Farm, Llanthony where the Wye tourists Ideally situated in Llandogo, just which were used by the early The farmhouse looks out on to the Symonds Yat traditionally stayed. three miles from Tintern Abbey, with Wye tourists still offer The Beaufort Arms Coaching west front of Llanthony Abbey and views across the River Wye. accommodation, although you Inn & Restaurant (3★) the mountains rise up immediately The Saracen's Head Bigsweir, www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk will find many other hotels, 17th century coaching inn. Only a behind it. Turner painted the Abbey, Beautiful 16th century Inn. Embark ✆ +44 (0) 1594 530105 B&Bs and farmhouses in the stone’s throw from Raglan Castle, and the farmhouse. Court Farm is a on a river cruise from Kingfisher The Florence Hotel (4◆) area. the large stone fireplace in the traditional working hill farm offering Cruises from the mooring outside. Commanding views of the River Wye Lugano B&B (3★) lounge is believed to originate from self-catering accommodation in a www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk and the famous Offa's Dyke and Wye Beautiful views of the river valley The Beaufort Hotel the castle itself! separate wing of the farmhouse. ✆ +44 (0) 1600 890435 Valley trails, which cross the and wooded hillsides from this B&B This hotel is in the centre of the www.beaufortraglan.co.uk www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk beautiful woodland gardens. in Llandogo. Walk to Cleddon Shoots historic border town of Chepstow. ✆ +44 (0) 1291 690412 ✆ +44 (0) 1873 890359 Walnut Tree Cottage Hotel www.florencehotel.co.uk which is said to have inspired the Despite its modern facilities the hotel (4◆) Set high on the banks of the river ✆ +44 (0) 1594 530830 poet to compose still retains all the charm and Keeping the Wye Valley Special – for a full range of environmentally Wye with stunning views of the river. the famous poem, ‘Lines’. character of a 16th century coaching responsible accommodation in the area, visit the website: Symonds Yat West, Ross-on-Wye, Llandogo www.luganobandb.com inn. This hotel was traditionally used Dyffryn Gwy yn Arbennig – i gael dewis llawn o lety cyfrifol HR9 6BN William Wordsworth, who took ✆ +44 (0) 1594 530 496 by visitors on the Wye Tour. o safbwynt amgylcheddol yn yr ardal, ymwelwch â’r wefan: www.walnuttree-cottage.co.uk the Wye Tour, wrote about 'the www.beauforthotelchepstow.com ✆ +44 (0) 1600 890828 cottages on the hills' and the ✆ +44 (0) 1291 622497

26 27 S G

B42 N S Tor Cliff Mes

New Grou Crom Com Codd

Engin Comm Halmo BE Kilcot Elton Cromh

Staplow

Little Gorsley N Purton

Bosbury

Castle M50 Bagstone Donnington R

Berkeley

14

Longhope 58 Blaisdon E

B40

Preston 22 Wanswell Ham Aston Ingham

Dymock Gorsley B4214 V

Woodford

LEDBURY

B42

Flaxley E B4024 M5

Kempley

Sharpness Littledean

Little Marcle Newnham S OF Tytherington Blakeney Stone

Iron

3 A4136

Falfield

B4066 Whitfield

Rangeworthy 72 A449 R

Lea E

Linton Munsley A41

Aylton V

ROAD Bevington Itchington

Purton I

B4221 Aston Crews R Cinderford Much Marcle E Heath

N Bromsash Trumpet Milbury Upper

Mitcheldean A4151

Soudley

ROMA Hill

Drybrook L

Canon Frome Canon Rushall B4224 A38 Ashperton Ruspidge

B4227 A48 Upton d Bishop A

Yo r k l ey

San

A417 Rockhampton Hope Mansell Rudhall V Crow Hill

Morton Pontshill 26

A438 B4224

Brierley

Lydney B42 Severn under

Woolhope

Lydney Parkend B4461 Weston 4 FOREST OF DEAN Penyard Grandison THORNBURY Hope Sollers Whitecroft Lower Buckenhill B4234 Oldbury-on- Ruardean Woodside Ross-on-Wye Bream Hole in the Wall Hole in the How Caple Fort Lydbrook Elberton Aylburton

Edge End Coughton

Shepperdine 21

Wye

B4234 B4028 Ellwood R Broadwell Brockhampton Milkwall Mile End Foy Alvington Weston Beggard Brampton Abbotts Hom English Bicknor Fawley Chapel Green Shucknall B4231 Stroat Baysham Camp Littleton-upon- Severn Welsh 1 Tidal Mordiford Reservoir

Netherend

Sands Wibdon Bicknor Walford Capler

M4

Ingst ROAD 4228 Oldbury B S A40 Yat Rock Toll King's Caple

le Hill Withington Carey

Hampton Bishop 2

Tidenham Hagley Cast ROMAN Penalt Christchurch Fownhope St Briavels B443 Northwick Goodrich Holme Lacy A403

Coleford Offa's Berry Clearwell Devil's Pulpit

Pencraig Dyke CHEPSTOW Bolstone Chase Sellack M48 Wye Peterstow B4224 Newland R Glewstone h

t - Bridge a

e 22 s Dyke P Brockweir Staunton ffa'

Fort y O er W Redwick Tintern Abbey v

i Road Severn Redbrook St Owen's Cross R Boughspring Symonds Ya t

B4399 The Kymin y Little Dewchurch A4137 Whitebrook fon Gw

Lugwardine

A 2

Tutshill V a

A4136 l e

l

e

y

y Woodcroft

Whitchurch W

Hoarwithy W unnel a l k A466 T Beach Severn Shelwick Llandinabo Castle

A49 Aconbury

Dinedor 21 Tintern A466 Abbey New Mills New Goodrich Castle

Lower Severn

Common Twyford B45 Holmer Bullingham Llandogo Tretire

Broadstone Much Birch Sudbrook

M4 King's Thorn Hill New

Bridge Trellech

Michaelchurch Ridge St Arvans s Nest

’

Severn Road Severn

Wood

Pwllmeyric Llanwarne 6 A46 Mitchel Troy M48

6 Chepstow Park Chepstow

Fort A46 Grafton Fort Rockfield Parkhouse Mynydd- bach Piercefield New

AD Map: Hawlfraint y Goron. Cedwir pob hawl. Cyngor Sir Fynwy LA 09012L 2003. Darperir mapiau Ordnans y cyhoeddiad hwn gan Gyngor Sir Fynwy dan drwydded gan yr Arolwg Ordnans er mwyn cyflawni ei ddyletswydd cyhoeddus i annog datblygiad economaidd lleol. Dylai unigolion sy’n edrych ar y mapiau hyn gysylltu ag adran hawlfraint yr Arolwg Ordnans am gyngor pan fyddant am gael trwydded mapiau’r Arolwg Ordnans i’w defnyddio eu hunain. Eagle Crick Callow B4233 Broad Oak

RO Tintern Abbey Wonastow King's Acre Caldicot

ROMAN Maypole

Breinton - Wormelow Tump le Llanrothal Hill y Whitestone Much VENTA SILVRVM VENTA Common

w Chepstow Castle

Orcop B4293 Fort

Allensmore n MONMOUTH Stretton Sugwas y

Cast

Garway Common M on ow f Hill Monmouth Highmoor Dewchurch A n B4235 on Llanishen M River Toll

ddi o N

r Pen-y- clawdd A465 T l Newchurch

Garway fon

Upper Breinton A e AD Crossway

thy Llanvair Bishop o Eaton Discoed

r A40

Swainshill

Kilpeck T O B4347 r v e A48

v ROMA R

i Rogiet e R

Didley 23 L Thruxton Earlswood Kenchester Vibon-Avel Llangattock-

Bagwyllydiart

Llanfihangel Pen-yr-Heol Canon 49 Bridge

Castle

Clehonger Kingcoed t Llangwm Summerleaze

Golygfan Gwinllan Newcastle

Kingstone B43

Cwrs Golff

Llanvaches Cour Amgueddfa B4521

Penhow

p S co

Parc Gwledig Parc ROAD

Gorsaf Fysiau

Raglan i

Llandenny M2 Howton OMAN 23a

B4347 Penrhos R Twyn-y- Sherif

Bridge Sollers

Pen-y-cae- Cockyard mawr Castle ld Kentchurch Wormbridge Madley Llandevenny Castle Lulham A449 Llanvihangel- M20 Ystern-Llewern

Parc Seymour AD a Hene/Safle Hanesddol Llandevaud

M11 C Redwick Abbey, Cathedral or Priory Abbey, Llanmartin llwedd i’r symbolau Fort R Wye Bishton

Llantrisant

Bryngwyn

M1 a l V l

e k y s

W U a l M3 k Cyrchfan i dwristiaid gyda chaffi Grosmont Gwbodaeth i Ymwelwr (tymhorol) Gwbodaeth i Ymwelwr Llanbeder on-Usk Newbridge- Abbey Dore White Castle Tyberton 48 A34 Llanarth A449 M1 Hoaldalbert Shenmore

B4347 Harold Gwbodaeth i Ymwelwr (gydol y flyddyn) Gwbodaeth i Ymwelwr Rowlestone Bont ˆ neu Adeilad o Ddiddordeb Hanesyddol B43 Ash Cat's M4 Ty Preston on Wye Bacton Llanwern M5 USK M62

Vowchurch Monnow M6 Llangybi on Wye

Valley 24 M50

St Margarets 2 Blakemere A455

B4233 ISCA

River B4598

M5 Peterchurch 21

Lower A47

Newton Monkswood Moccas din Corner Pye NEWPORT

A5

Golden Llandegfedd Resr

52 Maes-coed B45 Merd Walterstone

ydd A40 Ton

Llandegveth Coed-y-paen

Llanvihangel Gobion

Turnastone M4

Myn Pandy awr

Upper F B43 y-derry Maes-coed Nant-

A38

Llanddewi Rhydderch Usk Ponthir A48 Ysgyryd A30 Hinton Llanvihangel Little Mill 25 Middle Longtown

Snodhill Fort er

ABERGAVENNY Maes-coed

A40 A40 iv Clodock Dorstone B4236 Hill 25 A465 Oldcastle Croes-y- mwyalch glas Maes- Llanveynoe Hatterrall Croesyceiliog Duffryn 26 New Inn New A4042 A4042 Stanton

Escley o Michaelchurch H nd fon du

B4348 A Malpas M4 th Llanthony Allt a Mardy

P ynydd ys Key to symbols Key to (all year) Information Tourist Information (seasonal) Tourist Bud or Coach Station Viewpoint Castle Cathedral or Priory Abbey, House or Building of Historic Interest Ancient Monument/Site Museum Country Park Vineyard Feature with Cafe Tourist Golf Course Map: Crown copyright. All rights reserved. Monmouth County Council LA 09012L 2003. The Ordnance Survey mapping within this publication is provided by Monmouth County Council under licence from Ordnance Survey in order to fulfil its viewing this mapping should contact Ordnance Survey public function to encourage local economic development. Persons copyright for advice where they wish to licence Ordnance Survey mapping for their own use. apol ethin n anellen clochd AN ke 69 N

28 29 Richard Corbett, Printmaking Courses What’s On Special offer for users of this guide - 10% discount for ’ short courses. 20 % for courses of 2 hours plus. Artists paraphernalia Beth sydd Ymlaen ✆ +44 (0) 7967 094080 www.richardcorbett.biz

Charles & Patricia Lester, Textile Artists Offer Artistiaid Demonstrations for groups by appointment. ✆ +44 (0) 1873 853559 www.charles-patricia-lester.co.uk Artist Supplies The Art Shop G J KilBride, Silk Weavers 8 Cross Street, Abergavenny NP7 5EH Demonstrations for groups by appointment. ✆ +44 (0) 1873 852690 The Wye at Lydbrook, ✆ +44 (0) 1873 881059 Email: [email protected] Audrey Hart 2005 Artists Corner Wye Tour Exhibition Take to the Water An Aladdin's Cave with everything for the artists, crafter Visit this travelling exhibition of modern paintings selected As the Wye Tour was generally taken by boat, many of the and modeller. by open competition and organised by the Wye Valley Art views the early tourists enjoyed can only be seen on the 6-7 Beaufort Square, Chepstow NP16 5EP Society. Based on twelve sites of the Wye Tour, new river. Why not hire a from Monmouth Canoe Centre ✆ +44 (0) 1291 627393 www.artistscorner.co.uk paintings are displayed alongside copies of original or take a short cruise from Symonds Yat West? Need to frame your masterpiece? pictures, engravings and quotes. See the website Heritage Hall Beaver Framing www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk for exhibition details. Monmouth Canoe and Activity Centre Offers professional digital scanning, old art or photo Picture Framers, Gallery, Paintings and Original Prints Hire a canoe or kayak and explore the Wye Valley from restoration, mastering and fine art giclée printing. Shop selling artists’ materials, cards and gifts. Take a Discovery Tour the water. The Sugar House, Citra, Monk Street, Monmouth NP25 3NZ The Picturesque Wye Tour is one itinerary on the current Castle Yard, Old Dixton Road, Monmouth NP25 3DP Nr. Abergavenny NP7 7ET ✆ +44 (0) 1600 713905 programme of Monmouthshire Discovery Tours. If you're ✆ +44 (0) 1600 713 461/ 716 083 ✆ +44 (0) 1873 851669 www.heritage-hall.com interested in discovering Monmouthshire's hidden secrets, www.monmouthcanoehire.20m.com H & S Picture Framing whether you're a local or a visitor, these tours are for you. Unit 4, Hatherleigh Place, Union Road, www.discovery.adventa.org.uk Riverboat Cruises at Symonds Yat West Abergavenny, NP7 7RL ✆ +44 (0) 1873 858680 Abergavenny TIC ✆ +44 (0) 1873 857588 The Lady Christina, The Jacqueline D and The Lady www.hspictureframingltd.co.uk Charmaine leave Symonds Yat West Leisure Park for short Workshops and Demonstrations cruises from the 13th century church of Saint Dubricous Martin’s Framing to the rapids. The Old Police Station, Baker Street, Abergavenny The Court Cupboard Craft Gallery ✆ +44 (0) 1600 890350 / 07976 413330 ✆ +44 (0) 7854 843017 Join one of a wide range of workshops, including www.symondsyatleisure.co.uk watercolour workshops led by Keith Foster. The Old Smithy Gallery www.courtcupboardgallery.com Kingfisher Cruises From Symonds Yat The longest established picture framers in ✆ +44 (0) 1873 852011 Kingfisher Cruises operate daily river trips from Symonds Monmouthshire. All aspects of picture framing undertaken Yat. The forty minute trips through the Symonds Yat gorge on the premises, plus original and limited edition prints. The Hill depart around 11am. Resident stained glass artist. Wide range of workshops and courses on offer. ✆ +44 (0) 1600 891063 / 07831 297672 34 Maryport Street, Usk www.oldsmithygallery.co.uk www.thehillabergavenny.co.uk www.kingfishercruises.co.uk ✆ +44 (0) 1291 672207 ✆ +44 (0) 1495 333777

For up to date information on news Woodland Turnery For a complete listing of current art related and events in the area, visit the website: Wood-turning & Pyrography Courses businesses and activities in the area, visit: I gael y wybodaeth ddiweddaraf am newyddion www.woodland-turnery.co.uk I gael rhestr lawn o’r busnesau a’r gweithgareddau a digwyddiadau yn yr ardal, ymwelwch â’r wefan ✆ +44 (0) 7901 790543 sy’n gysylltiedig â chelf yn yr ardal, ymwelwch â: www.visitwyevalley.com www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk 30 31 Notes and Credits Nodiadau a Diolchiadau Llanthony Most of the historical pictures in this guide are held in Copyright 2006 adventa. All rights reserved. No part of the collections of Chepstow and Monmouth Museums this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval Art Galleries and can be viewed by appointment. system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright holder. Downey Barn Gallery Cedwir y rhan fwyaf o ddarluniau hanesyddol yn y llawlyfr hwn yng nghasgliadau Amgueddfeydd Cas- Hawlfraint 2006 adventa. Cedwir pob hawl. Although the Wye Tour was the most a Threfynwy a gellir eu gweld drwy wneud apwyntiad. Ni ellir atgynhyrchu unrhyw ran o’r cyhoeddiad hwn, ei storio mewn system gaffael na’i drosglwyddo mewn Chepstow Museum ✆ +44 (0) 1291 625981 famed pictuesque tour, artists and unrhyw ffurf na thrwy unrhyw ddull heb ganiatâd Hazel Pickering, ✆ +44 (0) 1600 710630 Orielau Celf blaenorol daliwr yr hawlfraint. The Round House (detail) writers travelled across South Wales. The contemporary interpretations of the picturesque This project has been supported by the European Turner painted Llanthony Abbey and views featured in the guide were amongst the entries in the Wye Valley Art Society’s Wye Tour competition. Guidance & Guarantee Fund, the Welsh Assembly today Caroline Downey finds inspiration A selection of these paintings can be viewed and Government and Monmouthshire County Council. The purchased at their 2006 travelling exhibition. project has also received financial support from Capital in the landscape surrounding her Region Tourism’s Short Break Scheme. Take home a piece Wye Valley Crafts Association Pat Yallup Studio & Gallery Roedd y dehongliadau cyfoes o’r golygfeydd pictiwrésg Just five minutes walk from Tintern Established professional artist Pat gallery at Cwmyoy in the Llanthony a gynhwyswyd yn y llawlyfr ymysg y ceisiadau ar Cefnogwyd y prosiect hwn gan y Gronfa Cyfarwyddo a of the Picturesque! gyfer cystadleuaeth Taith Afon Gwy Cymdeithas Gelf Gwarantu Ewropeaidd, Llywodraeth Cynulliad Cymru a Abbey, members display their arts teaches and works from her gallery. Valley. Open most days but please Dyffryn Gwy. Gellir gweld detholiad o’r peintiadau Chyngor Sir Fynwy. Derbyniodd y prosiect hwn gefnogaeth hyn a’u prynu yn eu harddangosfa deithiol 2006. ariannol hefyd oddi wrth Gynllun Gwyliau Byr ‘Capital and crafts in the historic Gallery House, Llandogo, Monmouth phone if making a special journey. Region Tourism’. Ewch â darn o’r This guide has been produced by adventa – surroundings of Abbey Mill. NP25 4TJ www.patyallup.com Cwmyoy, Llanthony Valley, Monmouthshire’s LEADER+ rural development If you would like further information about the adventa Pictiwrésg adref programme - to interpret the picturesque viewpoints programme or its activities, visit the website: Abbey Mill, Tintern, Chepstow NP16 ✆ +44 (0) 1594 530940 Abergavenny NP7 7NT made famous by the early tourists who came to the Os hoffech unrhyw wybodaeth bellach am raglen adventa area to paint and to compose poetry in the eighteenth neu ei gweithgareddau, ymwelwch â’r wefan: gyda chi! 6SE www.wyevalleycrafts.co.uk www.galleriesintheblackmountains.co.uk and nineteenth centuries, and to promote the area as Abergavenny ✆ +44 (0) 1873 890993 a cultural tourism destination to visitors. www.adventa.org.uk. Cynhyrchwyd y llawlyfr hwn gan adventa – rhaglen If you wish to receive the information contained in this Chepstow Monmouth datblygiad gwledig LEADER+ Sir Fynwy – i publication in Braille, large print, or by electronic means, ddehongli’r gwylfannau pictiwrésg a wnaed yn enwog please contact: Raglan gan y twristiaid cynnar a ddaeth i’r ardal i beintio ac i Art on the Railings Gallery Artico greu barddoniaeth yn y ddeunawfed a’r bedwaredd Os dymunwch dderbyn y wybodaeth a gynhwysir mewn ganrif ar bymtheg, ac i hybu’r ardal fel cyrchfan Braille, print bras neu drwy ddull electronig cysylltwch â: dwristiaeth ddiwylliannol i ymwelwyr. Takes place on the first Saturday of Located in cobbled Church Street Rachel Spaven Nicola Smith, Green Tourism Officer, adventa the summer months with more than Artico stocks prints and gifts. An artist and woodcarver making Our thanks go to the members of Wye Valley Art Email: [email protected] ✆ +44 (0) 1873 736035 Society whose vision and enthusiasm inspired this 200 exhibiting artists, sculptures and 14-16 Church Street, Monmouth bespoke ‘3 Dimensional Paintings’ project and for their help and support during the Copy researched & written by: production of this visitor guide. Ymchwiliwyd i’r copi ac fe’i hysgrifennwyd gan: potters, art workshops and NP25 3BU which are inspired by the patchwork Ruth Waycott, Wye Knot Tourism Solutions Diolch i aelodau Cymdeithas Gelf Dyffryn Gwy y bu ✆ +44 (0) 1600 860 779 demonstrations ✆ +44 (0) 1600 719471 of landscapes in Monmouthshire. i’w gweledigaeth a’u brwdfrydedd ysbrydoli’r prosiect hwn a diolch am eu cymorth a’u cefnogaeth yn ystod Photography by: Ffotograffiaeth gan: www.artontherailings.co.uk www.againstthegrain.me.uk y gwaith o gynhyrchu’r llawlyfr hwn i ymwelwyr. Harry Williams and Mari Roberts ✆ +44 (0) 1291 627393/ 625646 Richard Corbett ✆ +44 (0)7932 569 799 We would like to thank Ann Rainsbury, Curator of Translation by: Cyfieithiad gan: Chepstow Museum and Andrew Helme, Curator of Business Language Services Nelson Museum and Local History Centre, Monmouth Printmaker, Photographer, Painter Design by: Dyluniad gan: for their guidance and support on this project, John Harris, Dispirito Design ✆ +44 (0) 1600 740 432 Riverside Pottery and Gallery The Stables, Bridges particularly for their help in sourcing images and Usk (www.dispirito.co.uk) Eagle’s Nest providing captions. 10 Bridge St, Chepstow NP16 5EY Centre, Drybridge Road, Monmouth Hoffem ddiolch i Ann Rainsbury, Curadur Amgueddfa Images reproduced courtesy of: Monmouth & Chepstow www.riversidepottery.co.uk NP25 5AS www.richardcorbett.biz The Court Cupboard Craft Renaissance Art Café Cas-gwent ac Andrew Helme, Curadur Amgueddfa Museum, Wye Valley Art Society (including entrants in the Nelson a Chanolfan Hanes Lleol, Trefynwy am eu Wye Tour competition) ✆ +44 (0) 1291 621999 ✆ +44 (0) 7967 094080 Craft Gallery and Gallery cyfarwyddyd a’u cefnogaeth gyda’r prosiect hwn, yn Atgynhyrchwyd y delweddau trwy gwrteisi: Amgueddfa A wonderful showcase of arts and Paintings, artwork, and crafts. arbennig am eu cymorth i ddod o hyd i ddelweddau Trefynwy a Chas-gwent, Cymdeithas Gelf Dyffryn Gwy ac am ddarparu capsiynau. (gan gynnwys y ceisiadau yng nghystadleuaeth Taith Gwy). The Workshop Gallery Tack Room Gallery crafts from members of the Black Kemeys Commander, Usk NP15 1JU Our thanks also go to Mark Bristow, Information Officer, Wye Valley AONB, for his valuable input. Exhibitions of potters, fabric artists Selected high profile specialist Mountains Circle, a group of local www.craftrenaissance.co.uk Diolch hefyd i Mark Bristow, Swyddog Gwybodaeth, Visitor information and print makers. exhibitions and showings of artists and makers who take much of ✆ +44 (0) 1873 880879 AHNE Dyffryn Gwy, am ei gyfraniad gwerthfawr. Gwybodaeth i ymwelwyr 13 Lower Church Street, Chepstow local artists. their inspiration from the landscape Whilst every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, adventa can accept no liability whatsoever for any For further information on where to go in the area, loss or damage resulting from any errors, inaccuracies NP6 5HJ The Stables, Bridges Community in which they live and work. Whitespace Art Gallery what to do and how to get there, please contact or omissions or for any matter in any way connected www.nedheywood.com Centre, Drybridge Road, New Court Farm, Llantilio Pertholey, A changing programme of exciting one of the area’s three Tourist Information Centres with or arising out of the publication of this whose staff will be happy to help: information. adventa cannot be held liable for any loss, ✆ +44 (0) 1291 624836 Monmouth NP25 5AS Abergavenny NP7 8AU exhibitions by contemporary artists. damage or injury sustained by any member of the I gael gwybodaeth bellach ynghylch ble i fynd yn www.tackroomgallery.co.uk www.courtcupboardgallery.com 49, Bridge St, Usk, Monmouthshire public visiting any of the sites or businesses featured. yr ardal, beth i’w wneud a sut i fynd yno, cysylltwch ag un o dair Canolfan Croeso yr ardal y bydd eu Tra gwnaed pob ymdrech i sicrhau cywirdeb, ni all staff yn falch o’ch helpu: Tintern ✆+44 (0) 7779 680114 ✆ +44 (0) 1873 52011 www.manseldavies.com adventa dderbyn unrhyw gyfrifoldeb o gwbl am ✆ +44 (0) 1291 673350 unrhyw golled neu ddifrod sy’n deillio o unrhyw Abergavenny Tourist Information Centre gamgymeriadau, gwallau neu unrhyw beth sy’n cael Canolfan Croeso’r Fenni ✆ +44 (0) 1873 857588 Mariana-Art Gallery Great Atlantic Art Galleries Robert Jones, ei adael allan nac am unrhyw fater sy’n gysylltiedig For a complete listing of current galleries mewn unrhyw fodd gyda neu sy’n codi o gyhoeddi’r Chepstow Tourist Information Centre Mariana’s vibrant work is in private Find the local gallery in cobbled Gwlad Publications wybodaeth hon. Ni ellir dal adventa yn gyfrifol am Canolfan Croeso Cas-gwent ✆ +44 (0) 1291 623772 and craft centres in the area visit: unrhyw golled, difrod na niwed a achosir i unrhyw collections throughout the world. Church Street in Monmouth. Limited edition landscape photographs Monmouth Tourist Information Centre aelod o’r cyhoedd sy’n ymweld ag unrhyw rai o’r Canolfan Croeso Trefynwy ✆ +44 (0) 1600 713899 Abbey Lodge, Tintern, Chepstow 19 Church St, Monmouth NP25 3BX PO Box 222, Abergavenny NP7 5YG I gael rhestr lawn o’r orielau a’r canolfannau safleoedd neu’r busnesau y rhoddir sylw iddynt. NP16 6SF www.mariana-art.co.uk www.greatatlantic.co.uk www.gwlad.co.uk crefft yn yr ardal ar hyn o bryd ymwelwch â: ✆ +44 (0) 7748 690096 ✆ +44 (0) 1600 714527 ✆ +44 (0) 1873 855552 www.wyetour.adventa.org.uk

32 33