Activities for Treating Yourself

Tula Massage – by Evangeline Di Michele
https://evangelinedimichele.com/tulamassage/
Highly recommended and a personal favourite of ours – Will need booking in advance.
Evangeline is local based in Monmouth only a 10-minute drive away.

Celtic Manor Resort
https://www.celtic-manor.com/home/spa-fitness/ /
only a 20-minute drive to Newport and another personal favourite of ours. Will need booking in advance.
Immerse yourself in the ultimate pampering journey when in Wales, with their two spas including the award-winning Forum Spa and Ocius Treatment Rooms. Enjoy whole spar days which includes a treatment and use of facilities for the day and a light lunch.

Hensol Castle Distillery
https://www.hensolcastledistillery.com/
Just outside Cardiff you’ll find South Wales’ first full scale gin distillery, visitor experience, gin school and contract bottling plant, all distilling nicely in the cellars of the 17th century Hensol Castle. From Cocktail Masterclasses to Gin Distillery Tour as well as a Gin Making Experience there is plenty on offer here to do. Will need booking in advance.

Local Sporting Activities

Welsh Mountain Walks
http://www.welshmountainwalks.co.uk/guided-walking.html
Ben – who runs Welsh Mountain Walks offers the fantastic opportunity explore the beautiful Welsh Mountains through guided walks of your choice offering a variety of day walks from Gentle through to challenging ones without the worry of getting yourself lost in the process. Another of our personal favourites can personally vouch for his professional, safe and beautiful walks.

Go Ape – Forest of Dean
https://goape.co.uk/locations/forest-of-dean-mallards-pike
Go Ape Mallards Pike, Forest of Dean, you can explore and enjoy England’s largest oak woodland and one of our most beautiful adventures from the treetops or the forest floor. The Challenge course is definitely one for the bold and brave with its newly extended zip wires and if you enjoy your fun closer to earth you can zip off on one of our all-terrain electric Segways.

Pedal A Bike Away – Forest Of Dean
https://pedalabikeaway.co.uk/
Our Bike Hire and Cafe base is located at the very start of all the Forest of Dean cycle trails (Gloucestershire), in South West England– our nearest towns are Coleford, Monmouth, Ross-On-Wye, Cinderford, and Lydney.

Wye MTB
Guided Mountain bike rides across South Wales where they make use of their Land Drover Defender and uplift clients across some of the best descents the South Wales has to offer. Wye Mountain Biking Ltd – Monmouth See: https://wyemtb.co.uk

Monmouth Canoe Hire and Activity Centre
quality modern canoes and kayaks for hire providing canoeing Trips to enjoy the River Wye and explore the stunning Wye Valley. a short 15 minutes drive away. https://www.monmouthcanoe.co.uk/

Wye Adventures

From Indoor & Outdoor Axe and Knife throwing, Archery, Canoeing & Kayaking, Paddle boarding, Gorge Scrambling, Climbing & Absailing, Rafting and Bushcraft Wye Adventures based in Symonds Yat West, can cater for a wide range of exciting activities. Only a 20 minute drive away. https://wyeadventures.com/

Chepstow Racecourse
For an exciting day out at the Races – https://www.chepstow-racecourse.co.uk/

Symonds Yat The Pinacle
If climbing is your thing, Symonds Yat The Pinnacle is one of the major climbable areas in the Wye Valley, in an idyllic setting, a great variety in rock features, including a pinnacle and caves, a good spread of routes across the grade range and the bonus of parking and a tea shack at the top!! For more information see: https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/symonds_yat-403

Forest of Dean
Sprawling woodlands with outdoor activities, castles, museums, & Caves to explore. Just a 20-30 minute drive away For more details see: https://bit.ly/2EC3Tts

National Trust – Sugarloaf and Usk Valley
Sugar loaf mountain is suitable walk for all abilities and the views are fantastic
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/sugarloaf-and-usk-valley

Forest of Dean
Only a 20-30 minute drive away, fantastic variety of walks and scenery, and also BBQs provided throughout the areas.
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/days-out/regionsouthwest/gloucestershire

Hiking the Black Mountains
A great mixture of environments to explore: tarmac roadway towards the masts; wooden boardwalk across the bog to the summit of the Black Mountain and open countryside across the top of the Black Mountain and Black Hill. https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/divis-and-the-black-mountain/trails/black-mountain-walk

Eating Out

Local Places of Interest

The Savoy Theatre
The Monmouth Savoy is the oldest theatre site in Wales and is run by a team of volunteers and theatrical enthusiasts.
https://monmouth-savoy.co.uk/

Offa’s Dyke Path
The Offa’s Dyke Path Trace the often fought over borderland of Wales along the 8th Century Offa’s Dyke Trail, offering stunning views over the Wye Valley from Tintern to Monmouth, beautiful countryside up to Abergavenny, then the beauty of the Black Mountains. Along your way you’ll pass a medieval castle in Chepstow, the majestic ruins of Tintern Abbey, the Georgian Kymin with it’s unparalled views, vineyards and a hidden gem deep in the Black Mountains. For interactive map see: https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/offas-dyke-path/custom-itinerary/

King Arthur’s Cave
King Arthur’s Cave is a limestone cave at the foot of a low cliff at the north-western end of Lord’s Wood in The Doward, near Symonds Yat, Herefordshire, about four miles northeast of Monmouth, in the Wye Valley. The cave entrance lies about 285 feet above the River Wye on a hill, with a double interconnected entrance and two main chambers. It is protected as a nature reserve under the Herefordshire Nature Trust. There is evidence that the cave was occupied by man during the Upper Palaeolithic era, and flint tools and woolly mammoth bones have been unearthed within and around the caves

Abbey Mill
https://www.abbeymill.com/
Abbey Mill is a well-established independent family business and has been trading in Tintern village for the past 60 years. Set amidst breath-taking scenery and situated on the banks of the River Wye in the original mill site of Tintern Abbey, founded in 1131

Chepstow Castle
Beautiful and Historic – https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/chepstow-castle

Raglan Castle
Beautiful and Historic – https://cadw.gov.wales/visit/places-to-visit/raglan-castle

Newport Museum and Art Gallery
Since 1888 Newport Museum and Art Gallery has been collecting evidence of Newport’s history, culture and environment. The archaeology collections span over 100 years of collecting and represent thousands of years of human activity in and around Newport. https://www.newport.gov.uk/heritage/en/Museum-Art-Gallery/Museum-Art-Gallery.aspx

Big Pit National Coal Museum
Big Pit National Coal Museum is a real coal mine and one of Britain’s leading mining museums. With facilities to educate and entertain all ages, an informative day out. https://museum.wales/bigpit/

Parks and Gardens of Monmouthshire
We’re lucky in Monmouthshire to have so many beautiful countryside sites to enjoy including picnic sites, nature reserves, country parks, historical sites, common land, riverside meadows and woodland. There are also many wonderful gardens to visit, excellent opportunities to indulge ourselves buying plants, and beautiful places to stay. We even have our own Town of Flowers in Usk. Best of all, we have fellow gardeners who share our horticultural passions. People who love gardens, we’ve discovered, are generous with their time, enthusiasm and knowledge. See the wide range of parks and gardens open to the public.
https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/things-to-do/attractions//parks-and-gardens