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Usk

This delightful small town, which takes its name from the river beside which it sits, was founded by the Romans in AD75. Well known for its excellent local fishing - the River Usk is a fine salmon river - the town attracts fishermen from far and wide. The heart of the town is picturesque Twyn Square with its restored clock tower and 13th century gatehouose. Also noted for its floral displays and historic buildings, Usk is home to the Gwent Rural Life Museum, housed in several historic buildings, which tells the story of life in this Welsh border region from Victorian times up until the end of World War II. Amassed over many decades by hundreds of local residents, the collection is huge and includes many vintage agricultural implements along with re-creations of a dairy (complete with a life-size milkable Friesian cow), brewery, carpenter’s, a laundry and a thatcher’s. Adjacent barns contain collections of stage coaches and farm carts, and an exhibit on the Great Western Railway.

Usk Castle was built in the early 12th century, and passed to and fro between the English and the Welsh. It was strengthened by Gilbert de Clare in the late 13th and early 14th century when he built the tower keep. De Clare was eventually killed at Bannockburn, and it then passed to Elizabeth de Burgh and eventually, the Mortimer family. The Duchy of Lancaster, which owned it next, allowed it to fall into decay. The ancient walls and old stone towers covered with creeper are highly evocative and the setting is serene.

The Parish Church of St Mary was formerly the church of a Benedictine priory for nuns founded in the 12th century, and has a 15th-century roodscreen.