L VALLEY SPIRATIONA m IN of British Touris The Birthplace

www.gilpin2020.org www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk www.visitmonmouthshire.com Contents

3 Foreword Wilton 4 Inspirational Valley Ross-on-W ye 11 – Birthplace of 10 British THE 250 th F 6 The ANNIVERSARY O Movement Goodrich GILPIN’S 12 WILLIAM 8 Boats WYE TOUR West The 13 (& New Weir) Coldwell Rocks 10-25 Wye Tour Symonds Yat East It is 250 years since William Gilpin (& Yat Rock) 14 13 took a boat tour down the River 26 Rooms with a View Wye in 1770, an event that heralded Introducing 28 Art Galleries, 15 Studios & Courses the birth of British tourism. the W ye T o ur 31 Arty Events Gilpin was a pioneer of the ‘Picturesque’ and his ideas led to the concepts of The beauties of the 32 Take to the Water landscape appreciation and conservation, were discovered for the first time 33 Walk the Wye Tour culminating in the designation of at the close of the 18th century, protected landscapes – our National when war against France forced Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Whitestone people to take holidays at home. Beauty. The Wye Valley was designated 17 an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty What they found in this part of Abbey (AONB) in 1971. This publication their native country entranced 18 explores what inspired Gilpin (and them for its variety of landscape Devil's Pulpit Turner and Wordsworth amongst many experience and historic association. Eagle’s Nest 20 others) and hopefully inspires you to That is still true 250 years later 21 ‘navigate the Wye’ too. Find out more at: when the same journeys can Wintour's Leap Piercefield www.gilpin2020.org be made and the same visual 22 www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk experiences can be relived. Castle This is an inheritance all too www.visitmonmouthshire.com 24 easy to violate and thus one to fiercely cherish and protect. Safe Exploring Grid References Sir Roy Strong Note: Some of the walks in this guide can be Outdoor Leisure Map OL14 Wye Valley & Forest of steep, slippery and precipitous. Take a map, and Dean 1:25,000 covers the whole of the Wye Tour wear stout shoes and suitable clothing. area and all grid references relate to this map.

2 3 boats on the river and Observations started the fashion for ‘picturesque tourism’ – travel which focused on an appreciation of scenery rather than just or architecture. Increasing interest in, and appreciation of, Britain’s landscapes helped make Gilpin’s book an instant success and brought visitors, including artists, writers and poets to the Wye Valley. Many kept journals and diaries which provide a wonderful insight into their travels: Samuel , William Coxe, , Thomas Martyn, Thomas Roscoe, Leitch Ritchie, Louisa Ann Twamley and Mr and Mrs S C Hall were amongst those who recorded their observations on the Wye Valley. Inspirational Valley “if you have never navigated the Wye, you have seen nothing.” William Gilpin , 1782 Birthplace of British Tourism William Gilpin

History of the Wye Tour – In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth Wordsworth, Turner, Philip de Loutherbourg, Michael ‘Angelo’ Rooker and Coleridge left centuries it was fashionable to take a boat tour down the Wye Valley, to view inspiring records of their trips in paintings, its romantic sites and picturesque landscape. ‘Tourists’ dined at specific poetry and prose. By 1850 over twenty locations, took walks to particular viewpoints and visited specific romantic guidebooks had been published, firmly establishing the Lower Wye Valley as the ruins, making the ‘Wye Tour’ one of the first ‘package holidays’. birthplace of modern British tourism. The heyday of the Wye Tour was from 1760 In 1745 a rector from Ross-on-Wye, Dr to the 1830s. Its popularity was renewed in , was the first to build a boat the 1820s when steam packets from especially to take his guests on excursions started arriving in Chepstow and again, in down the Wye. By the late eighteenth century the 1870s, when the there were at least eight boats operating on opened. By the 1880s thousands of people a commercial basis, in response to growing were arriving at Tintern Station to walk to 1 3 demand from tourists. Much of the demand the Abbey and view the harvest moon rising was a direct result of a book, the first tour through the East Window. 4 guide to be published in Britain in 1782, 2 entitled Observations on the and We hope this guide will help you to enjoy

Several Parts of South , by William the most ‘picturesque’ sites visited by the 1. , Visit Gilpin. Gilpin took the Wye Tour from Ross early tourists. Some of the views are 2. View of the Wye from Chepstow to Chepstow in 1770 and wrote, “if you have remarkably similar today, others show Castle , never navigated the Wye, you have seen considerable change in the landscape, but 3. Tintern Abbey , Edward Swinburne, Chepstow Museum nothing.” Part of the popularity of the Wye one thing all the sites still have in common 4. Tintern Abbey from the River Wye , Tour was that tourists viewed the valley from is their ability to inspire. J.M.W Turner, c.1828, Tate

4 5 “the most perfect river-views are composed of William four grand parts: the area, which is the river itself; the two side-screens, which are the Gilpin opposite banks, and lead the perspective; and the front-screen, which points out the winding of Gilpin was a pioneer in the the river..... They are varied by... the contrast appreciation of landscape in Britain and his ideas had a of the screens....the folding of the side-screen lasting effect on the way we over each other...... the ornaments of the Wye.... came to view the landscape. ground, wood, rocks, and buildings..and colour”. He developed a set of rules for the Picturesque movement: William Gilpin Observations on the River Wye , 1782 The Picturesque Move m ent and Landscape Painting in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

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

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 , c1830s The Wye Tour Boats Thomas Roscoe

Boats were the preferred From the 1770s boats were available to take visitors method of travel for the Wye down the Wye throughout the summer months. Boats were hired from inns in Ross and Monmouth. The boat Tour and vessels were specially owner provided food and wine to be enjoyed on the trip constructed for the growing which generally took two days going downstream from Ross. There was a crew of three (one to steer and two to tourist trade. They were light row), but boats frequently had to be hauled over shallows and could be used with or and rapids by gangs of ‘bow hauliers’. Stops would be without a sail. Equipped with made at the well known sites so that tourists could explore or walk to viewpoints high above the river. In the later a canopy, padded seats and a nineteenth century the Tour became over-commercialised table to sit at, tourists could and much less leisurely. paint, draw or write as they 1. Tour boat passing English Bicknor , 1791, Nicholas Pocock, Norwich Castle took in the scenery. Museum & Art Gallery 2. Tintern Abbey , engraving by W Radclyffe after Copley Fielding from ‘Wanderings in South Wales….’ By Thomas Roscoe, 1837, Nelson Museum, Monmouth 3. Advert from the Monmouthshire Beacon newspaper , late 19th century, Nelson Museum, Monmouth 1 4 4. Tour boat at Redbrook , detail from engraving, 1861, Nelson Museum, Monmouth 5 5. Tintern , engraving from ‘The Wye, Narrative of a Pedestrian Ramble’ by 6 Leitch Ritchie, 1841, Nelson Museum, Monmouth 2 7 6. Bow Hauliers on the Wye , detail from engraving. Nelson Museum, Monmouth 3 7. Coldwell Rocks , engraving by W Radclyffe after David Cox from ‘Wanderings in South Wales….’ By Thomas Roscoe, 1837, Nelson Museum, Monmouth

8 9 ‘The peculiarities of this river, attracting so many travellers have taught the people of Ross to provide pleasure boats for their accommodation. They are built to hold ten persons commodiously, have a table to draw or regale upon; lockers to hold books, or bottles and benches for four or five men to navigate the boat.’ Sarah Wilmot, 1795 Sarah Wilmot Ros s-on -Wye Wilton

Traditionally Ross-on-Wye was the start of the Wye Tour, with the Wilton was the first romantic ruin the tourists Royal Hotel the favoured place to stay. It had commanding views passed, but most hurried on downstream to grander Ross-on-W ye delights than its ‘crumbling old towers and ivy- over the river, and benefited from the adjacent pleasure garden and grown walls’. Wilton was a busy riverside village clifftop walkways beside St Mary’s Church, known as The Prospect, of wharves, warehouses and inns catering for the boatmen and bowhauliers using the river. You can which had been laid out by John Kyrle around 1700. Symonds Yat West still see the grooves worn by the bowhaulier’s (& New Weir) Coldwell Rocks ropes on the downstream side of Wilton Bridge. Visitors embarked on the Tour at the town Symonds Yat East dock in front of the Hope and Anchor Inn. (& Yat Rock) Here, boats were hired, fitted with ‘every Monmouth The Kymin Access suitable convenience’ and reassuringly Wilton Castle is privately owned but can be viewed from the riverside footpath near Wilton Bridge, which runs close by. supplied with boatmen ‘well skilled Redbrook in navigation’. Grid Reference 359 027 Some guides advised tourists to well out of earshot of the boatmen ‘so the ear is not strained by the coarseness Llandogo of language heard so frequently from the Whitestone navigators of public rivers’! A spacious flight of steps was constructed at the Brockweir Dock Pitch for the ‘elegantly dressed’ to Tintern Abbey 1. Ross-on-Wye , Drew Buckley Devil's Pulpit 1 reach the river. By the late 18th century 2. The Royal Hotel , Chepstow Eagle’s Nest Museum. there were at least eight boats operating 3. Wilton Castle , John Glover, 2 on a commercial basis in response to Piercefield Wintour's Leap after 1794, Yale Centre for the growing demand from tourists. British Art. 3 Chepstow Castle

10 11 1. Goodrich Castle , 1872, William Callow, Chepstow Museum (Goodrich Court to the right, Goodrich Castle to the left.) 2. Goodrich Castle on the Wye , Peter de Wint, Chepstow Museum 3. Symonds Yat View , Chepstow Museum.

1 3 Goodrich Castle 2 Gilpin’s first grand scene, where the view was ‘correctly picturesque’, was Goodrich Castle. Tourists enjoyed the view of the castle from the river, before leaving their boats at the ferry house and walking up to the castle. Symonds Yat East, West & Rock

Charles Heath felt this route was ‘very incommodious for Coldwell Rocks was the favourite place for a picnic Wilton well-dressed women, being in part through fields of high and it was also where tourists left their boats to Ross-on-W ye grass in season, and of steep ascent’. Artists also climb up to the viewpoint at Symonds Yat Rock, complained that, ‘The whole building is so surrounded Gilpin’s second grand scene on the Wye. with rock & steep banks of trees, that it is impossible to Goodrich Castle The crew rowed the boats around a four mile draw a near view of it’, whilst inside ‘elm and ash trees loop in the river to New Weir on the opposite of considerable height’ grew. Today the trees inside the Symonds Yat West bank at Symonds Yat West. Here, tourists found castle have been removed, but it is still almost hidden (& New Weir) Coldwell Rocks their boats waiting alongside ‘an immense by the trees that surround it. Symonds Yat East Iron-forge and slitting Mill, disgorging its black Access By the 1830s the castle had a competitor for the (& Yat Rock) sulphurous smoke’. The tourists loved the contrast Monmouth The Kymin Goodrich Castle is just off the A40, traveller’s attention. Unable to buy Goodrich Castle to of this industrial landscape with the peaceful signposted with brown castle signs. house his collection of medieval armour, Sir Samuel scenes of fishermen in their curious fishing There is a large car park from where it Meyrick built his own ‘admirable imitation of the antique’, Redbrook boats called coracles. is a 400 yard walk to the entrance to naming it Goodrich Court. Wordsworth disliked this the Castle, which is in the care of The white water of New Weir now attracts boats ‘fantastic new castle set up…as if to show how far English Heritage. There is an admission of a different kind – and kayaks. The only modern art can go in surpassing all that could be done charge. www.english-heritage.org.uk remaining pleasure boats on the Wye today operate by antiquity and Nature’. It was demolished in 1950 Llandogo on the calm water above the weir. Grid Reference and only the on the A40 remains. Whitestone 579 199 Brockweir Access Tintern Abbey Devil's Pulpit Access to Yat Rock is from the B4432 north of Coleford. Follow brown ‘After spending about two hours & taking two sketches amongst the tourist signs to Symonds Yat Rock. Access to Yat Rock is via a footpath ruins, we returned to our boat, ate some bread & cheese & began to Eagle’s Nest from the main Forestry car park. think of enjoying ourselves when a storm came aptly enough to Piercefield Wintour's Leap Grid Reference 564 160 remind us of the instability of all human pleasures.’ Mary Anne Hibbert , 1823 Chepstow Castle

12 13 “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 The Kymin around, is attracted with the pleasing position of Monmouth Monmouth, here seen to During the Picturesque movement it became fashionable to build summerhouses at sites with spectacular singular advantage, Wilton viewpoints. With one of the best views around, the small admires the elegant bend Ross-on-W ye two-storey circular Georgian banqueting house that and silvery current of the stands on top of The Kymin, was built in 1794 by the Monmouth was the half way stage on the Monmouth Picnic Club. Monnow, glistening Goodrich Castle Tour and most visitors stayed at one of the through meads, in its course inns in Agincourt Square. Cashing in on the Guests who came here received instructions on how to observe the views in the correct Picturesque manner. towards the Wy, and the Symonds Yat West popularity of the Tour, Monmouth writer (& New Weir) Coldwell Rocks Charles Heath began printing small guide A Naval Temple was built in 1801 and when Nelson junction of the two rivers, visited Monmouth the following year, long four-pounder Symonds Yat East books which were easy to carry whilst which form an assemblage (& Yat Rock) travelling. His series of guides to the Wye guns boomed out from the Temple to greet him as his Monmouth The Kymin Valley’s attractions, called Descriptive Scenes , tour boat from Ross came into view on the river below of beautiful objects”. provided specific historical information about at Hadnock Reach. Nelson enjoyed a ‘handsome’ breakfast in ‘The Round House’ as it is known locally. William Coxe Redbrook popular tourist sites. He had a shop, opposite the Shire Hall in Agincourt Square, where The site is now owned by The An Historical Tour in visitors could purchase his books and prints. (www.nationaltrust.co.uk) and it is the view, extending Monmouthshire , 1801 over much of rural Monmouthshire, which continues As well as exploring Monmouth, excursions Llandogo to be the biggest attraction. The grounds are open were also made to nearby romantic ruins at daily from dawn to dusk. The Round House is open 1. View of Hills in the Environs of Monmouth , 1801, Thomas Tudor, Whitestone Raglan and Llanthony Abbey. from the end of March until end of October on 2. Agincourt Square , Monmouth, 1808, Brockweir Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Monmouth Museum 3. , c.1800, watercolour Tintern Abbey Devil's Pulpit Access by Michael Angelo Rooker, 1746-1801, Nelson Museum, Monmouth Take the A4136 from Monmouth towards Coleford and the . Eagle’s Nest 4. The Kymin , detail from oil painting by After nearly one mile turn sharp right signposted for The Kymin . Follow this John Arthur Evans, 1854-1936, Nelson Piercefield Wintour's Leap road, which is narrow, windy and steep in places, to the top of the hill and the Museum, Monmouth car park. (Note car park closing times - it may be locked early autumn/winter Chepstow Castle afternoons.) From the car park walk up to the Round House and viewpoint, 1 4 past the Naval Temple. 2 Grid Reference 528 125 3 14 15 R

Goodrich Castle

Symonds Yat West Lower (& New Weir) Coldwell Rocks Symonds Yat East (& Yat Rock) Monmouth The Kymin Wye Valley

Redbrook Below Monmouth the Wye flows past several small rural villages which in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were important industrial Llandogo settlements. The river was the focus of travel and Whitestone trade as there was no road through the valley Brockweir between Chepstow and Monmouth until 1828. Access Tintern Abbey From Llandogo take the Road Devil's Pulpit Whitestone (beside the shop), climbing up out of Eagle’s Nest Boat building was an important industry in the villages of the village. After about 1.5 miles there It is thought that the views from Whitestone and is a Natural Resources Wales car park on Wintour's Leap Brockweir, Llandogo and Tintern. The larger local boats, Piercefield Cleddon inspired Wordsworth to write “Lines the right. Park here and follow the main flat-bottomed barges known as , could sail as far as track up the hill passing the adventure Chepstow Castle Brockweir where cargoes were unloaded onto smaller boats composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey”. playground on your right. Take the path to be carried upstream. Coracles were also a common craft He commented that “no poem of mine was on the far left of the upper car park on the river. heading up hill with the valley on your composed under circumstances more pleasant right. There are three viewpoints along the Surprisingly the scenes of industrial activity along the for me to remember than this” . Whitestone route, each providing a more spectacular Wye were considered Picturesque by the tourists. Redbrook’s view over Llandogo. At the third viewpoint iron and tin works ‘gave animation to the romantic scenery’ remains a very pleasant place to spend some follow the track around to the left as it thought Archdeacon Coxe when he visited in 1799. time, enjoying the views from the conveniently joins another forestry road. Continue along At wire and paper were manufactured and, this straight section until the main path “Within half a mile of it (Tintern Abbey) are carried on placed benches along the woodland trail. bears right. Keep left and follow the path great iron-works, which introduce noise and bustle into these down a rocky descent back into the lower car park. regions of tranquillity” wrote Gilpin. He was referring to the Angidy Ironworks which had made Tintern an important Grid Reference industrial centre for over 300 years. Following Henry VIII’s 524 029 (car park) dissolution of the monasteries, Tintern would have faded into obscurity but for the fact that the Crown chose to Five years have passed; five summers, with the length 1. Redbrook , engraving from ‘The Book of the establish a foundry for brass and iron in the Angidy Valley. Wye, South Wales and the Coast’ by S C At its peak over 600 people were employed in Tintern. Of five long winters and again I hear Hall, 1861, Nelson Museum, Monmouth These waters, rolling from their mountain-springs 2. Llandogo , lithograph by T M Baynes after Along this lower stretch the valley is largely forested, one of W H Bartlett, Chepstow Museum the main changes in the landscape over the past two hundred With a soft inland murmur. Once again 3. The View from Whitestone , Visit years. At the time of the Wye Tours much of the woodland Monmouthshire Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs, 4. Llandogo , engraving from ‘The Book of the was coppiced to feed lime kilns and furnaces. Trees were also Wye, South Wales and the Coast’ by S C felled for bark, used in the tanning industry and for timber, That on a wild secluded scene impress Hall, 1861, Nelson Museum, Monmouth especially for pit props in the Dean mines. Many conifers have Thoughts of more deep seclusion, and connect been planted since World War I, although this is nothing new. 3 4 “Will it never be known that firs in groups are like plumes The landscape with the quiet of the sky. on the graves of the Picturesque?” wrote Fosbrook in 1818. 1 William Wordsworth 2 Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey, 1798

16 17 Wilton Ross-on-W ye Many tourists were initially dismayed by the un- picturesque beggars and hovels surrounding the Abbey. Goodrich Castle Grose disapproved of, “the ill-placed neatness of the poor people who show the building, and by whose Symonds Yat West absurd labour the ground is covered over by turf as (& New Weir) Coldwell Rocks even and trim as a bowling-green, which gives the Symonds Yat East building more of an air of an artificial ruin in a garden (& Yat Rock) than that of an ancient decayed abbey.” However once Monmouth The Kymin inside, the Abbey delighted all. Thomas Roscoe wrote: “the rich heavy folds of Nature’s most graceful Redbrook 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, Llandogo and the presiding genius of such spots, the fragrant Whitestone and beautiful wall flower wanders over arch and window, decking them with its fair garb of green and Tintern Abbey Brockweir gold, and crowning the decaying pile with a halo”. Devil's Pulpit Once the railway arrived in 1876, Tintern became even Eagle’s Nest more accessible as an ‘excursion’ destination. In the 1880s it was not uncommon for over a thousand people Piercefield Wintour's Leap to arrive by train on September evenings to view the Chepstow Castle harvest moon rising through the Abbey’s rose window. Tintern Abbey “.....the most beautiful and picturesque view on the river.... It occupies a great eminence in the middle of a circular valley, Built by Cistercian monks in 1131, Tintern Abbey was the architectural beautifully screened on all sides by woody hills, through highlight of the Wye Tour, a tourist which the river winds its course.” destination since the 1750s when William Gilpin , 1782 William Gilpin The Duke of Beaufort cleared the interior of the Abbey and laid a lawn to make it easier for visitors Access Tintern Abbey is on the A466. There is 1 to view the ruins. a large car park adjacent to the Abbey. 2 Tintern was also an industrial village and Grid Reference 3 the ‘great ironworks, which introduce noise 533 022 and bustle unto these regions of tranquility’ inspired many travellers looking for the picturesque. They loved the drama of fire 1. Tintern Abbey , side aisles looking north, detail from lithograph by L Haghe, Chepstow Museum and flames and sparks. You can follow in 2. Tintern Abbey by moonlight , c.1900, Chepstow Museum their footsteps along ‘The Angidy Trail’ today. 3. Wire Mills at Tintern , Wire Mills at Tintern, 1807, James Ward, Chepstow Museum

18 19 Access Access to Devil’s Pulpit from Tintern is on foot up a fairly steep ascent. Start from Eagle’s Nest the bridge over the River Wye adjacent to Abbey Mill. Cross the bridge and follow the path around to the right for a short distance. Turn left between the metal posts and continue upwards. After a level area, continue upwards again, looking out for a painted stone on the ground saying ‘Devil’s Pulpit’. Take a left turn here up a fairly rough, tortuous path which crosses a forestry track and continues upwards. On reaching the Offa’s Dyke Path turn right and Devil’s Pulpit is about half a mile further along. Grid Reference Devil ’s Pulpit 543 995 The Eagle’s Nest is a spectacular viewpoint, high above the Wye at Wyndcliff, looking out over the sweeping curve of the river around the This narrow pillar of limestone near the edge of the Wye gorge has Peninsula. In the distance the river winds out to the Severn. magnificent views over Tintern Abbey, and was a popular site with the The Wyndcliff was, in effect, the start (or finish) of Valentine Morris’s Wye Tourists. Legend has it that the ‘pulpit’ was used by the devil to Piercefield Walk, the highest point on the walk with the grandest view. cajole the monks toiling below and persuade them to join him! Coleridge, one of the Romantic poets, described the Wyndcliff view as R “the whole world imaged in its vast circumference” .

Although the view of the Abbey is kept clear today it Goodrich Castle is evident that the area was much more open when Walk - 350yds. Follow this stony path uphill, Thomas Roscoe and his contemporaries visited in “the river here forms almost a circle and the without turning off the main route until the nineteenth century. The hillsides behind the Symonds Yat West (& New Weir) Coldwell Rocks rocks richly wooded an amphitheatre, over reaching the sign for Eagle’s Nest off to the Abbey on the Welsh side of the river were also much right. Go down the steps to the viewpoint. Symonds Yat East less forested than nowadays. Notice also how the (& Yat Rock) which a wide extended country appears spread Abbey is surrounded by more cottages and houses Thick woods now obscure the cliffs and Monmouth The Kymin out including the beyond.” exposed rock along the right bank of the in W H Bartlett’s 1845 lithograph. The ‘hovels’ river, cliffs which were clearly visible in the have gone today, but there are intrusions into the Joseph Farington The Wye Tour of Joseph Farington , 1803 nineteenth century picture, although the picturesque landscape: car parking, tarmac, Redbrook field patterns on the left bank of the river the visitor centre and souvenir shops! are very similar today. This farm was Access bought by the Piercefield Estate in order 1 2 to protect their views across the valley! “On the opposite bank of the river, an Llandogo Start at the Lower Wyndcliff Natural Resources Wales car park adjacent to the Circular Route ancient entrenchment runs some distance Whitestone A466 north of St Arvans. Cross the road It is possible to take a circular route, following the uphill to the along the ridge of the hill, and one angle, Brockweir returning via the 365 steps, by taking the Upper Wyndcliff car park. ( You can start path to the left on your way back down Tintern Abbey commanding a splendid view of Tintern Devil's Pulpit 1. The Vale of Tintern from Devil’s here for a shorter walk. This car park is the hill returning to the Lower Wyndcliff Pulpit , W H Bartlett, 1845 reached via a lane off the A466, 0.5 miles car park. and the fair vale around it, is dignified Eagle’s Nest 2. View from the Wyndcliff , north of St Arvans. The carpark is on the ” compressed detail from engraving, right after 0.5 miles.) Take the footpath on Grid Reference by the appellation of the ‘Devil’s Pulpit’. Piercefield Wintour's Leap Chepstow Museum the left at the back of the car park which is 527 974 signposted for Eagle’s Nest and Wye Valley Thomas Roscoe Wanderings in South Wales , 1836 Chepstow Castle

20 21 “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 England and Wales, 1768 Arthur Young

right onto the track and then after about 100 yards turn left down the path. Keep on this main path and as the track bears right through a cutting you will see ‘The Platform’ on the left, a dressed stone structure with the remains of iron railings on the top and a yew tree growing out of it! Piercefield Yew trees now obscure the view over the river. Keep on the main path through more woodland and after a while you will come to some railings on the left and glimpses This walk takes you across Piercefield Wilton of Chepstow Castle. A little further on you Ross-on-W ye will find ‘The Alcove’ on the right, looking Estate, retracing paths laid out by out over the river and the Castle. Valentine Morris in the eighteenth Much of this view remains unchanged, Goodrich Castle though the noise of traffic, and the new century. Morris’s Picturesque walks bridges over the Wye and the Severn had viewpoints and features along the Symonds Yat West highlight two centuries of ‘progress’! (& New Weir) Coldwell Rocks Continue up the steps, following the path route and were extremely popular with Symonds Yat East (& Yat Rock) Access being redesigned in the late eighteenth which turns off to the left through the wall, tourists. In fact, Piercefield became and along the fenced pathway passing the Monmouth The Kymin Park in Chepstow Leisure Centre car century by Sir . It has been an unmissable attraction on the Wye in ruins since the 1920s. school on your right before returning to your park, just off the A466 near Chepstow starting point in the Leisure Centre car park. Racecourse gates. Leave the car park on Tour as Gilpin wrote, “Mr Morris’s The racecourse is now on your left. Follow Redbrook foot and walk back towards the main road. the track and then bear right heading improvements at Persfield.... are Turn right heading back towards the Grid Reference towards . Standing with racecourse roundabout. Turn right 530 948 generally thought as much worth a your back to the ruined house the view immediately after a drive on the right called looks out across the Severn . traveller’s notice, as anything on the Llandogo ‘The Cloisters’, taking a footpath through 1 an archway in the wall. On reaching the Walk on directly in front of the house for banks of the Wye.” Whitestone gravel track keep straight on with a wall about 100 yards with the fence on your 2 Brockweir on your right hand side. Follow this track left. Cross the stile and follow the footpath The Picturesque Piercefield Walk, a longer through the woodland (you might just catch Tintern Abbey down to meet the Wye Valley Walk. Turn walk taking in all the features on the Devil's Pulpit a glimpse of Piercefield House in the right onto the Wye Valley Walk and keep on Piercefield estate, from the Eagle’s Nest distance through the trees) until reaching Eagle’s Nest this path. Look out for ‘The Grotto’ on the 1. Piercefield Mansion & Park , c.1840 to The Alcove, can be downloaded from a gateway/kissing gate. Go through the right, surrounded by laurel. The view is now G Eyre Brooks, Chepstow Museum gate into open parkland. This was part of www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk. Piercefield Wintour's Leap completely obscured by laurel trees. 2. An Extensive View from Wyndcliffe Valentine Morris’s Piercefield Park, where looking across the Chepstow Castle many eighteenth century artists painted. Continue along the path, and after a down towards England , 1840, David Cox, Gilpin painted an earlier house, this house hill section you reach a logging track. Turn Chepstow Museum

22 23 “The strength of the castle must have been very great and, combined with its fine position, made it almost impregnable. Built on the summit of a lofty cliff, which is perpendicular on the river side, its walls seem a continuation of the rock, from which towers and rise up in varied and picturesque groups. What was grim and threatening in its day of power and pride, is now softened into beauty by time and decay.” Louisa Anne Twamley An Autumn Ramble on the Wye, 1839

Chepstow Castle R

In the late eighteenth century the Goodrich Castle “I went to the Bridge and made a drawing of the Castle which ruins of Wales’ first stone built castle, occupied me four hours. The view forms a very picturesque spectacularly sited on cliffs above the Symonds Yat West (& New Weir) Coldwell Rocks composition the parts of the Castle appearing united so as to Wye, provided inspiration for many Symonds Yat East (& Yat Rock) visitors, including Turner. Chepstow make a well collected mass of large objects.” Joseph Farington The Wye Tour Monmouth The Kymin was the highlight at the end of the Wye of Joseph Farington , 1803

Tour, “so uncommonly excellent, that the Redbrook A pleasant walk from Chepstow, following Offa’s Dyke Access most exact critic in landscape would path, will take you to Wintour’s Leap, a popular picturesque There is easy access to the Castle from scarcely wish to alter a position in the viewpoint with stunning views over Piercefield. Download the Bridge Street car park adjacent to the Tourist Information Centre at the bottom Llandogo the Lancaut Walk from www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk assemblage of woods, cliffs, ruins and of Chepstow. From here you can walk down water” , commented Wyndham. Whitestone Chepstow Museum, just across the road from the Castle to the riverside or across the Wye Bridge, is worth a visit having an inspiring collection of engravings, from where the best views of the Castle can Brockweir prints and paintings by artists who took the Tour. Quotes be obtained. There is also a permissive Tintern Abbey path across the fields on the 1. Chepstow Castle , 1802, Paul Devil's Pulpit from journals and diaries of the time are on display side of the river, looking across the Wye to 1 2 Sandby, Chepstow Museum alongside paintings in the Wye Tour room. Many of the the Castle, a favourite view with artists. 2. From Wintour’s Leap , Eagle’s Nest historical pictures in this guide are held in the collections of William Collins, c 1834, Chepstow Museum Piercefield Wintour's Leap Chepstow and Monmouth Museums and can be viewed by Grid Reference appointment. They also have a lovely shop selling books 535 942 Chepstow Castle about the Wye Tour, and unusual gifts and cards.

24 25 Tintern The George Hotel Crown Cottage, White Castle Rooms with a View William Makepeace Thakeray Located right next to White Abbey Cottage, Tintern stayed at this coaching inn and Castle with views of the castle Abbey Cottage’s picturesque described it as ‘one of the and surrounding Monmouthshire credentials cannot be beaten, We’ve chosen places to stay where you will find ‘a room with a view’, as cleanest, neatest, cheerfulest, hills, Offa’s Dyke and the Three having one of the best views fresh--givingest inns to Walk. well as hotels, mentioned in diaries of the tourists, which continue to in the village of the abbey, ideal be found anywhere’. www.wyevalleyholidaycottages. for painters, sketchers and welcome visitors some 200 years later. www.georgehotelchepstow.co.uk co.uk/crown-cottage photographers. ¥ +44 (0) 1291 625 363 www.monmouthshirecottages.co. Vanilla Cottage uk/cottage/tintern-abbey-cottage/ Luxury holiday cottage on the ¥ +44 (0) 1600 860 341 River within walking and the Vale of Usk distance of the Craft Renaissance Beaufort Cottage, Excursions were also made to Craft Centre. Special artist’s Tintern Abbey nearby ‘romantic ruins’ in the offer – one free dog place. This cottage, in the grounds of Vale of Usk to see the sights www.monmouthshirecottages. Tintern Abbey, was one of a few of and Llanthony co.uk/cottage/vanilla-cottage/ built in the 18th century. It has Tourists passing under Chepstow Bridge , 1826, Chepstow Museum Abbey. Gilpin describes his trip up ¥ +44 (0) 1600 860 341 an amazing close-up view over the the Usk Valley in Observations . ruins from the bedroom window! For many years a coach took Hotel PLACES TO STAY Goodrich Monmouth www.wyevalleyholidaycottages. tourists from Monmouth to Raglan Part of the original Llanthony co.uk/beaufort-cottage- ON THE WYE TOUR Joshua Cristall, one of the Most tourists stayed in one of as a side trip to the Wye Tour. Priory, the hotel’s rooms are foremost watercolourists of his the inns in Agincourt Square, tintern-abbey Angel Hotel, Abergavenny furnished in a manner suited Ross-on-Wye day, lived at Granton House in which had been renamed from to a 12th century priory, Foxes Reach Many tourists stayed in As the official start of The Tour Goodrich. He was president of ‘the Market Place’ in the hope including four poster beds, This luxury holiday cottage, just Abergavenny at the Angel Hotel, Ross was often full of tourists the Royal Academy Watercolour of attracting more tourists. with picturesque views over 1.5 miles from Tintern Abbey, is a fine coaching inn which booking tour boats and securing Society and very much part of A few slept on their boats. the ruins. the Picturesque movement. ideally situated for inspirational continues to serve visitors in provisions for their trip down river. www.llanthonyprioryhotel.co.uk/ The Kings Head Weatherlodge painting holidays. Special artist’s style today. ¥ +44 (0) 1873 890 487 The Royal Hotel Granton Coach House With views across Agincourt offer – one free dog place! www.angelabergavenny.com The Royal, as majestic visually Granton House was once home Square, this 17th century www.monmouthshirecottages. ¥ +44 (0) 1873 857 121 as its name suggests, was a to Joshua Cristall, from where he coaching inn was one of co.uk/cottage/foxes-reach Broadley Farm favourite with Wye tourists at the painted local cottages and people Monmouth’s most important ¥ +44 (0) 1600 860341 The Beaufort, Raglan Two cottages with stunning start of their voyage, enjoying harvesting ferns on Coppett Hill. inns and much favoured by This 17th century coaching inn is views over Llanthony Valley views across the river below. Today you can stay in Granton Wye tourists. a stone’s throw from Raglan Castle, and the Black Mountains, a Coach House. Chepstow www.greenekinginns.co.uk/hotels www.jdwetherspoon.com/ from where the large stone short walk from the picturesque www.grantoncoachhouse.co.uk/ /royal-hotel-ross-on-wye hotels/wales/monmouthshire/ The Beaufort fireplace in the lounge originates. ruin of Llanthony Priory. accommodation-wye-valley A 16th century coaching inn ¥ +44 (0) 1989 565 105 the-kings-head Legend mentions passageways to Gallery displaying owner ¥ +44 (0) 1600 890 277 traditionally used by Wye tourists. ¥ +44 (0) 1600 710 500 the castle yet to be discovered. Clare’s work, also runs stone Wilton Court Hotel www.beauforthotelchepstow.com www.beaufortraglan.co.uk carving courses. ¥ +44 (0) 1291 622 497 Set in an Elizabethan building Symonds Yat East The Punch House ¥ +44 (0) 1291 690 412 www.broadleyfarm.com and having a marvelous riverside The Saracens Head Inn Overlooking Agincourt Square setting with views across the This 16th century riverside inn this Grade II listed pub was also Woodfield Arms For details of all the accommodation in the area go to: Wye towards Ross, this 5* hotel With original features dating back has a spectacular position a popular coaching inn called is just a few minutes’ walk from to 1648, most rooms in this overlooking the river Wye, where The Wine Vaults. Wilton Castle. historic pub have unrivalled it flows into a steep wooded www.sabrain.com/pubs- www.wiltoncourthotel.com views to the UK’s oldest stone- gorge. Embark on a river trip and-hotels/south-wales/ ¥ +44 (0) built castle. with Kingfisher Cruises. monmouthshire/punch- www.visitmonmouthshire.com www.wyedeantourism.co.uk/stay 989 562 569 www.thewoodfieldarms.com www.saracensheadinn.co.uk house-new /accommodation-in- +44 (0) 1291 620 349 ¥ +44 (0) 1600 890 435 ¥ +44 (0) 1600 713 855 ¥ monmouthshire.aspx 26 27 Art Galleries, Studios & Courses

Take home a piece of the Picturesque from one of our local art galleries - or make a masterpiece yourself on a painting course inspired by our landscapes. Landscape painting holidays in the Wye Valley are offered by www.alphapaintingholidays.com.

Monmouth Lower Wye Valley Creates Gallery The Wye Valley Arts Centre Wye Valley Crafts Monmouth’s cobbled Church Housed in a restored chapel in Association Street is home to this picturesque Llandogo, Wye Members display their arts and independent gallery specializing Valley Arts Centre offers a crafts in the historic surroundings in showing original artwork in a selection of courses in painting, of Abbey Mill, five minutes’ walk relaxed setting. drawing, photography, sculpture from Tintern Abbey. 15 Church Street, and jewellery. Abbey Mill, Tintern, NP16 6SE Monmouth, NP25 3BU Llandogo, Monmouthshire, www.wyevalleycrafts.co.uk www.createsgallery.com NP25 4TW ¥ +44 (0) 1291 689 346 ¥ +44 (0) 7535 160 712 www.wyearts.co.uk ¥ +44 (0) 1594 530 214 The Workshop Gallery Atelier Gilmar Ned Heywood exhibits and sells Dedicated to contemporary Marianna Robinson Art his thrown pottery in The jewellery, this studio showcases Mariana’s vibrant work is in Workshop Gallery in Chepstow. Ross-On-Wye & Surrounding Area the unique work of goldsmiths private collections around the The Workshop Gallery, Canwood Gallery Made in Ross Wobage Makers Gallery Gill and Alan Saunders. world. She tutors watercolour Lord Nelson House, The Back, A former cow shed in the rolling A co-operative of local arts and Wobage Makers Gallery exhibits 5B, Church Street, workshops and offers private Chepstow, NP16 5HH countryside of is crafts producers whose unique hand-made contemporary crafts Monmouth, NP25 3NY tuition. ¥ +44 (0) 1291 624 836 now a free, avant garde art work is on display at the historic including pottery, woodwork, www.ateliergilmar.com Mariana-Art, Cascades, gallery exhibiting thought Market House in Ross-on-Wye. jewellery, basket making and ¥ +44(0) 1600 715 454 Llandogo, Monmouth, 3 provoking art and sculpture from Open daily, with members on textile art. NP25 4TE 1 2 UK and international artists. hand to welcome visitors from Crow Hill, Upton bishop, Wye Valley Arts Society www.wyedeantourism.co.uk/disc Checkley, Herefordshire, 10am to 4pm. Free Admission. Ross-on-Wye, HR9 7QP A group of amateur and over/all/t-1871%7C/i-3686- HR1 4NF The Market House, www.wobage.co.uk professional artists based in MarianaArt www.canwoodgallery.com Ross-on-Wye, HR9 5NX ¥ +44 (0) 1989 780 496 the Area of Outstanding Natural ¥ +44 (0) 1594 540 484 1. Ross from the Wye Meadows , ¥ +44 (0) 7776 138 668 www.madeinross.co.uk Beauty, meeting at the Shire B. Powle. Private Collection Hall in Monmouth and holding 2. Tintern Abbey , Tintern Abbey, Samuel ¥ +44 (0) 1989 769 398 Palmer, 1835, Yale Center for British events and exhibitions. Art, Paul Mellon Collection www.wyevalleyartsociety.co.uk 3. Victorian Visitors at Tintern Abbey , Chepstow Museum 28 29 Abergavenny Chapel Cottage Studio 18th Century Art & Gallery To set Gilpin, and the boom in British Court Cupboard A small family run Art teaching landscape painting, in context, sign-up Craft Gallery studio nestled into the Welsh for a ten week art history course Showcasing the arts and crafts countryside just outside exploring art during this creative century. of members from the Black Abergavenny. Mondays from 20th January 2020. Mountains Circle. This group Llanddewi Rhydderch, Held at The Drill Hall in Chepstow. of local artists and makers Abergavenny, NP7 9TT Book via Chepstow Museum take much of their inspiration www.chapelcottagestudio.co.uk ¥ 01291 625 981 from the landscape they live ¥ +44(0) 1873 840 282 and work in. Wye Valley River Festival New Court Farm, Llantillio Raglan Two weeks of artistic happenings Pertholey, Abergavenny, flowing down the Wye from to NP7 8AU Court Robert Arts Chepstow, celebrating the landscapes of www.courtcupboardgallery.co.uk Sculpture garden, gallery and the Wye Valley. 2nd – 17th May 2020. ¥ +44 (0) 1873 852 011 tearoom. Lemon Studios offer www.wyevalleyriverfestival.co.uk painting, drawing, sculpture The Art Shop and creative clay courses for all Learn about the Picturesque Regular exhibitions of Fine abilities. Also accommodation Hereford College of Arts will be running and Applied Arts by local, on site. ‘Picturesque’ themed Short Courses international, established and , Raglan NP15 2BZ during their annual Festival of Arts in emerging artists in a domestic www.courtrobertarts.co.uk Arty events June 2020. interior setting. The shop stocks ¥ +44 (0) 1291 691 186 Details at www.hca.ac.uk. artist’s materials and fine papers. Cross Street, Abergavenny Usk Valley Why not take part in the spectacular farOpen Studios Trail www.artshopandgallery.co.uk/ Throughout 2020 Visit artists and makers in their studios Craft Renaissance ¥ +44(0) 1873 852690 Wye Valley ‘Big Draw’ event, which will to see their art and where they get Themed exhibitions, showcasing there will be events see people coming together to draw and their inspiration from. Annual open new work by talented local The Chapel and activities to studios trail across the Forest of Dean makers. Gallery shop selling paint all along the banks of the Wye? Or Art café, showcasing collections and Wye Valley held during July. locally produced art and crafts. celebrate the of jewellery, textiles and join a special Wye Tour walking holiday www.faropen.co.uk Courses and workshops for you ceramics, hosting events and 250th anniversary or a guided Wye Tour canoe excursion? workshops with artists, to participate in. h.ART Kemeys Commander, Art and photographic exhibitions will be musicians, writers & poets. of William Gilpin Held every September, Herefordshire Usk, NP15 1JU Inspirational art books and flowing down the Wye Valley at venues Art Week is a nine day art trail of www.craftrenaissance.co.uk taking the Wye Tour. magazines. artists, craft makers and creative ¥ +44 (0) 1873 880 879 throughout the AONB. Look out for Market Street, Abergavenny Check out what’s on at: businesses who open their studios, www.artshopandgallery.co.uk guided walks to favourite picturesque galleries and exhibitions to visitors. Gallery At Home ¥ +44 (0) 1873 736430 www.gilpin2020.org locations. There will be Gilpin-themed www.h-art.org.uk Contemporary art gallery events during the Wye Valley River Made in Monmouthshire celebrating both new and Wye Valley Big Draw Event established artists and the Showcasing the creative talents Festival (2nd – 17th May 2020) and Hereford College of Art will lead joy of living with art. of local makers and celebrating Ross Festival (22nd – 26th May 2020), partners in a mass drawing event along Llancayo Court, Usk, their role in keeping alive the banks of the River Wye, following Monmouthshire, Wales, including the launch of a virtual Wye traditions that shaped the in the footsteps of Rev. William Gilpin. NP15 1HY landscape. See their work in Tour boat on the riverside in Ross. October 2020. www.galleryathome.co.uk and Fancy joining in? Check out ¥ +44 (0) 7725 830 195 Ross Walking Festival (2nd – 4th local events. Photo: Wye Valley River www.hca.ac.uk. www.madeinmonmouthshire.com Festival Art Installation October 2020) will feature walks along at Tintern Abbey , Emma Drabble the Wye taking in viewpoints and places of interest described by William Gilpin. 30 31 “If you have never navigated the Wye, you have seen nothing.” Walk the Wye Tour William Gilpin , 1770

Take to the Water Professional artists like Turner, and writers like Wordsworth, always chose to walk through the Wye Valley, rather than taking a tour boat. They wanted time to immerse themselves in the landscape, travelling at their own pace. As the Wye Tour was generally taken by boat, many of the views the You can follow in their footsteps today by walking the lower section of the early tourists enjoyed can only be seen on the river. A couple of boats Wye Valley Walk, and Offa's Dyke Path, which follows the river Wye for still operate from Symond’s Yat, generally between March and October. much of its journey downstream through the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Probably the way to follow the Wye Tour today is a guided canoe trip. Natural Beauty. See www.wyevalleywalk.org.

Riverboat Cruises at For the more adventurous why Canoe Hire Celtic Trails Wye Valley AONB set of Symonds Yat West not join a guided canoe trip down You can find details of canoe Based in Tintern, Celtic Trails self-guided walking leaflets 1 2 Short cruises leave Symonds the river, or hire a canoe and hire companies here: offer Wye Tour walking holidays, These guides will take you Yat West Leisure Park from follow the (waterproof) Canoeist’s www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk/ following in the footsteps of through the favourite picturesque the 13th century church of Guide to the Wye Tour from exploring-wye-valley-aonb/ Turner, Wordsworth and landscapes of the Wye Tour. St Dubricious. Ross to Monmouth? on-the-water Coleridge. Choose from 4 night Download copies of the 1. near Coldwell Rocks , ¥ +44 (0) 1600 890 672 and 6 night holidays walking Picturesque Piercefield Walk , Gemma Wood Guided Canoe Tours with Canoeist’s Guide to the downriver from Ross-on-Wye Head for the Hillforts Trail , 2. Ross Church, Hereford Kingfisher Cruises from Way2Go Wye Tour to Chepstow. The Wordsworth Walk and Museum and Art Gallery Symonds Yat East Way2go Adventures offer guided Download a copy here: www.celtictrailswalkingholidays. The Lancaut Peninsular at: Kingfisher Cruises operate canoe trips down the Wye, www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk/ co.uk/walking-holidays/wye- www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk 40 minute river trips from the including special Wye Tour exploring-wye-valley-aonb/ valley-walk Saracens Head at Symonds Yat excursions. on-the-water/canoeing East through the Wye Gorge. www.way2goadventures.co.uk www.wyenot.com/ ¥+44 (0) 1594 832 248 kingfisher01.htm Official Tour Guiding – If you would like to be shown around by an Official Wales ¥ +44 (0) 1432 267 862 Tourist Guide, Phil Coates offers fully guided ‘Observations on the River Wye’ tours. See: www.walesbestguides.com 32 33

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Notes and Credits Many of the pictures used in this guide are held in the collections of Chepstow and Monmouth Museums and can be viewed by appointment. We would like to thank Anne Rainsbury and Sue Miles from Monmouthshire Museums Service for their help in sourcing images and allowing their reproduction here.

Chepstow Museum ¥ +44 (0) 1291625 981

Monmouth Museum ¥ +44 (0) 1600 710 630

This guide has been produced by the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) Partnership and Monmouthshire County Council with funding from the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, and Welsh Government. An earlier version was supported by adventa, Monmouthshire’s LEADER+ rural development programme, the European Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Welsh Assembly Government, Monmouthshire County Council, .

Copyright 2019 Wye Valley AONB Partnership. All rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the copyright holder.

You can obtain a Welsh version of this brochure from the Wye Valley AONB Unit by emailing [email protected] or downloading a copy at: www.wyevalleyaonb.org.uk www.visitmonmouthshire.com

Research and copy by Wye Knot Tourism Design by Dispirito Design www.dispirito.co.uk Photography by Emma Drabble Photography www.drabbleandco.com Translation by Monmouthshire County Council Images reproduced courtesy of Monmouth and Chepstow Museum, Tate, Yale Centre for British Art, Hereford Museum and Art Gallery, Gwent Archives, Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Herefordshire Archives, Private Collection.