The New Year of 2013 saw me spending with friends who live in Newport, South Wales. On a rare, sunny(ish) day we decided to visit a local village, Usk, 10 miles northeast of them.
Usk is a small market town located on the River boasting the same name as the village – a lovely stone bridge spans the western entrance over it to the town.
It (apparently) houses a notable prison (but we couldn’t find it) and more recently, has had success in the Britain in Bloom contests, winning the Large Village category in 2005.
If you’ve ever visited towns around the UK, as you wander around Usk you’ll come to understand why it’s considered more of a large village: There’s an old castle standing guard above the town, and a disused railway that made for a lovely walk, for example, meaning nature and history surrounds you.
December 2013 has seen unprecedented amounts of rain fall in the South West corner of the UK and Scotland. South Wales has not gone unaffected, and neither had Usk, as you will see in my little video.
Another quaint place is Twyn Square and the Clock Tower in Usk village centre. And with a choice of pub grub in two pubs in the Square, if you’re spending any time in Newport or Cardiff, I’d highly recommend a trip out to Usk. Bring warm winter clothes and waterproofs, and waterproofs even in the summer – you never can tell in this green and glorious land when the rain might fall!
All in all, I’d say Usk is quaint, traditional
Went to art college in newport and spent may happy time in this neck of the woods. It’s a lovely area and you can climb high up above the Usk and look down over the river to the sea,
I really enjoyed my time there – I’d definitely recommend it.
Happy New Year!
Usk looks lovely – I miss villages like that to walk around!
It was a great little town and yes, I love stumbling across such places. Glad you liked the post Molly
See what Usk Looks like in the summer via our website !
http://Www.uskinbloom.org.uk
Thanks Tony. I certainly loved the place and intend to come back in the summer when I’m next back down that way.
Nice pictures. Been to Wales a few times now. I never really heard of the place. Well you learn something new everyday, dont you.
Hahaha, Bex, you made me laugh with a “rare, sunny(ish) day” – somebody< would say you got weather spoiled in Greece :-). Lovely post about this cute little town. I love that disused railway. Looks so mystical. Bad that you haven't find a notable prison (where is it?!). It's amazing how high that water is. Weather has been terrible this winter.
I have never been to anywhere near this part of the world . I love the greenery and the relaxed nature of it all. Thanks for linking up with us to #SundayTraveler again !
You’d love it! Yes, very green, but that’s because it rains so much! Did you see the video I made in the post about how high the river was?
Pleasure to be part of the #SundayTraveler
Looks so pretty! I’m putting together a little roadtrip for my parents who are heading to Wales next month, and it looks like I have somewhere else to add 🙂
Yes, they must go to Usk. It’s very quaint. And I hope the weather’s better too! My dad has told me the last few days down his way (not far from Wales) has been glorious. But you never can tell with the pesky UK weather! At least it means we get lots of greenery.
Lovely photos! Unfortunate that you couldn’t find the prison–I bet that would have been pretty cool. Thanks for linking up to the #SundayTraveler 🙂
A coworker of mine is from Wales and he has convinced me that I need to go visit. This seems like a quaint little town. Thanks for linking up to the #SundayTraveler!
It’s a great town! Maybe go and visit when the water isn’t so high and you’re not at risk of flooding
Yes – maybe next time I visit my friends up that way, we’ll go and try to find the prison.