Monmouth & the Wye Valley

27/8/02-31/08/02

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Redbrook on Wye

The National Bird of Prey Centre

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Redbrook on Wye
Our base for four days. A pleasant village on the River Wye 3 miles from the centre of Monmouth. Redbrook has two notable pubs, both selling food. The Boat Inn is a real ale pub with it's food in the hale & hearty bracket & the Bell which is more of a 'gastro' pub, both are reasonably priced & sell good beers.

Bella the Doberman, who belongs to our hosts at Old Brewery House in Redbrook. Highly recommended as a place to stay, very comfortable rooms, great breakfasts & hospitality.	The river Wye & old railway bridge at Redbrook.	Another view of the river Wye, taken from the Millennium village green.


Monmouth

Two views of gated bridge over the River Monnow, built towards the end of the 13th century. One of only three gated bridges left in Europe.		Monmouth shire hall, built in 1724, the statue on the front of the hall commemorates the birth of Henry V, born in Monmouth in 1387


	Hidden behind Woolworths is the remains of Monmouth castle, the birth place of Henry V

Cardiff Castle The site of Cardiff Castle was originally occupied in Roman Times. In 1091, the Normans arrived & constructed a Motte & Bailey Castle on the site. The original wooden fortification was further enhanced in the 12th century by the addition of a stone 12 sided keep & curtain wall around the bailey. The other main additions to the fortifications were in the 15th Century adding a gatehouse & stairway to the keep. In 1776 the castle passed into the hands of John Stuart, who later became the Earl of Bute. It was John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd Marquess of Bute who completed the last great building works of the castle, in conjunction with architect William Burgess parts of the castle were extensively remodeled from 1865 in a medieval revivalist style. Unfortunately the fantastical rooms created are not allowed to be photographed. In 1947 the castle was given to the people & City of Cardiff, & is maintained to this day by Cardiff City Council.

The 12th century keep & 15th century gatehouse	Another view of the Norman keep, taken from the castle walls	An exterior view of the re-building work created by the 3rd Marquess of Bute, John Crichton-Stuart

	Another of John Crichton-Stuart's creations, the fanciful clock tower. The structure behind the clock tower is part of the Millennium Stadium

Peacocks-Some of the current inhabitants of Cardiff Castle...		And one of the 'organic' pigeon controllers

Tintern Abbey 4 miles north of Chepstow, lies the village of Tintern & Tintern Abbey. The Abbey was founded in 1131 & is one of only two Cistercian abbeys in the UK. The most impressive part of the Abbey complex, the enormous church, was built 1269-1301. The Abbey suffered from the Dissolution of the monasteries in the reign of Henry VII & was destroyed in 1536. Tintern, however is one of the most complete Abbey ruins in the UK.



The usual suspects in this picture are my two step sons, Elliott on the left & Rory non the right.

The National Bird of Prey Centre Located at Newent, has the largest collection of birds of prey in the UK. A large number of birds are not caged during the day, but are rather tethered In enclosures, enabling the visitor to get quite close to the birds. There are regular flying displays (depending on the weather), the birds flown vary from hawks & owls to eagles.