A Taste of Wales - Caerleon, Monmouth and Chepstow

Croeso y cymru! Despite what I thought when I first heard the name, A Taste of Wales is not a gastronomic festival, but rather a day trip around South East Wales: Caerleon, Monmouth and Chepstow. I was extremely excited about this trip as I love the countryside, castles and Roman ruins, but sadly we could only persuade thirty students to come with us (apparently the experience of Cardiff on the same day as football, cricket and Speedway had put them all off Wales for life!).

The day started with the coach breaking down just outside of Bath, but undeterred, we turned it into an opportunity for more induction into British culture and took advantage of the tea rooms handily located at the side of the motorway. 

Finally, we made it to Caerleon, site of the Isca Augusta fortress, which was used between about 75 and 300AD. Our first stop was the recreated Roman barracks at the National Roman Legion Museum, where we experienced life as centurions.

Our photographer Louis captured this very realistic example of Roman weaponry

Next was the Caerleon Spa, where the centurions would get clean after a hard day's beating each other up with hams. Unlike at Bath Spa, the water would not having been heated from the ground so they just had to get a little chilly.

Wanting our ruins a little more ruined, we then headed to the old barracks and amphitheatre, where all that remains are the foundations revealed by archaeological digs.

Roman barracks

Football seems to have replaced gladiatoring in the centre of the amphitheatre

Next up, we were off to the incredibly quaint town of Monmouth, where the streets were lined with bunting and flowers. 

We took advantage of the Heritage Day, which allowed access to many usually closed buildings, to satisfy my film geekery and visit the beautiful old Savoy cinema.

 This is how a cinema should be, a real theatre with plush seats, velvet curtains and a stage for cavorting on.

Talking the projectionist into letting me visit the projection room made me unspeakably happy. I'd never seen a film reel before and I loved to see how tradition is still preserved. Celluloid feels so much more like a film should be than a disk or computer file.

Last but not least, we went to Chepstow Castle, Britain's oldest surviving post-Roman fort, which began construction in 1067. The signs were a little scary, but we all amused ourselves pretending we were Kings and Queens of the Castle.

In short, South East Wales is clearly the place to go for a fun day out!