Monmouth lies in the beautiful Wye Valley and is surrounded by three rivers; the Wye, the Trothy and the Monnow. While it currently sits on the Welsh side of the border with England, Monmouth has spent time paying allegiance to both flags. With a certain English Georgian charm about the town, there is really only the faintest whiff of Wales in the air.
The town boasts the strangely exclusive claim of having Britain's "only complete late 13th century fortified crossing". How many other contendors there were, your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps there was a slew of early 13th century fortified crossings that didn't make it or maybe a glutton of late 13th century crossings, but they weren't fortified alas! It's impressive stone gate dates from 1262 and is still going strong. Fantastic.
The town has some lovely 18th centry buildings and streets which centre on broad Agincourt Square (named after Monmouth's Henry V who was victorious at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415). To the south is Tintern Abbey, which is one of Britain’s finest monasteries. Built in 1131 it lies on the banks of the River Wye in a quite beautiful location. The abbey church and magnificent east end and rose window are almost intact and this peaceful and graceful place is well worth a visit.
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