What's on in Monmouthshire

Monmouthshireis a county in the south east corner of Wales that has everything a British county should, from dramatic and beautiful scenery to fascinating ancient and historical sights at every turn, (including more castles than you could shake a stick at), wonderful bustling market towns and some fine old golf courses too. The county (in its current form) got its name from the historic county of Monmouthshire that was formed in 1535.

That historic county bordered Glamorgan in the west, Brecknockshire on the north, Herefordshire in the north east and Gloucestershire to the east. The southern and eastern boundaries of that historic country remain essentially the same today, running along the Severn Estuary and the River Wye. However the rest is now administered by the authorities of Newport, Caerphilly, Torfaen and Blaenau Gwent.

To this day it remains one of the finest areas of Britain and offers up some of the most beautiful countryside and most exhilarating walking in all of Wales. The famous Offa’s Dyke National Trail passes through Monmouthshire, bisecting the spectacular Vale of Usk and the Wye Valley. In addition the Wye Valley Walk and the Usk Valley walk pass over the national border and follow the river west. At every turn too you’ll find old Iron Age forts or Roman remains, fortified castles and ancient ruins. From Chepstow Castle to Raglan, Abergavenny, White, Skenrith, Grosmont and Caldicto castles, Monmouthshire dares to ask the question – is it possible to have too many beautiful old castles?

In addition there are other attractions such as the famous Tintern Abbey (scene of Wordsworth’s finest poem) and Llanthony Priory, as well as the Kymin and The Round House a spectacular National Trust property looking out over Monmouth, the Wye Valley and the Usk plain. With the Black Mountains and Brecon Beacons National Park in the distance ready for some outdoors adventures, Monmouthshire is truly one of the UK’s finest counties.

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is an English singer songwriter from Halifax in West Yorkshire. Ed moved to London in 2008 to play gigs in small venues, playing every day to audience’s as few as five people. In 2009 the singer had played 312 gigs and in an interview he stated that he wanted to beat James Morrison who had done 200 gigs in a year. It wasn’t until June 2011 that Sheeran broke through commercially when his debut single “The A Team” went into the UK charts at No. 3, selling over 58,000 copies in the first week, the highest selling and highest charting debut single of 2011. Ed appeared at the BBC Introd…