Monmouthshire in Wales ...

.... is where the Hairy Bikers were based on last night's foodie programme ..... and hubby and I have been there!!!! I was so excited watching their programme on DSTV - BBC Lifestyle Channel - Food Tour of Britain ... I have not travelled far and wide but this is one area I have been to.

Hubby and I went to England in June 2008 - my first overseas trip - and we took a day's outing from Bath where we were staying, to cross the bridge over the Severn River into Monmouthshire, Southern Wales ...


Our first stop .. after travelling along the beautiful Welsh country roads through forests and green hills and valleys ... was Tintern Abbey in the Wye Valley (as did the Hairy Bikers - who then proceeded to show the vineyard at the Abbey and makings of a honey wine - which was referred to as a wine and not mead) ... the Abbey dates back to 1131 and was occupied by monks ...


We ... and not the 'bikers' ... stopped off at Monmouth where there is Monnow Bridge - the oldest surviving medieval bridge in the UK ...

The biker's .. as did we ... headed towards Abergavenny ... a lovely place which dates back to Roman times (57/58 AD) ...

.. we stopped at a bakery for a bite to eat and all the locals in the queue thought I was a bit odd taking a photo of their delicious looking bread - which we didn't try :( - until I said I was from South Africa and had never seen bread like before ... lots of smiles from the friendly people ..

We walked around the grounds of the Abergavenny Castle - sadly in ruins - which dates back to 1175 ...

We made our way back to Bath through the Forest of Dean ... into Gloucester and back down to our hotel in the tiny tiny village of Limpley Stoke near Bath !!! Another post ? !

We loved Wales so much we went back on another day and made our way through the countryside popping in to see various interesting places including Raglan Castle ...

... where we explored the ruined buildings ...

... and marvelled at the breathtaking Welsh countryside from highest point in the castle ...

Our last stop in Wales was Chepstow .. the Hairy Bikers rode through this Town Wall Gate .... and proceeded to do a cooking demonstration near the River Wye close by ...

The Gate is part of the outer wall which surrounds the Chepstow Castle - the oldest stone building in Britain which guards one of the main river crossings - River Wye - from England to Wales ...

Through the doorway ...

... into the inner garden/courtyard of this magnificent castle is a campside where the Historic Society of Wales sets up living quarters as they used to be in the medieval times. This they do every weekend in the summer ... they live their the whole weekend .. cook with old pots over an open fire etc etc ... don't know what happens when it rains .. I suppose they cuddle in their tents !!!!!

The men do a demonstration of the various weapons used in those days including archery ...

I spoke to this little guy who said, in his beautiful sing-song Welsh accent, that he loves spending weekends there!

Oh yes .. and all the clothes were made by one of the women there .. all sewn by hand as they would have done long, long ago !!!

A fascinating and breathtaking country !!!