The Buckstone House Coach House is set in the lovely grounds of the owners' house. Beautifully…
Our View
Lady Park Wood NNR is part of a large woodland complex in the Wye Valley, straddling the border between England and Wales northeast of Monmouth. The reserve is a prime example of unmanaged, semi-natural woodland. Beside common trees like beech, oak, ash, wych elm and birch, the site is also home to both small-leaved and large-leaved lime, in addition to a rare species of whitebeam. The shrub layer is dominated by hazel but also includes dogwood, spindle, hawthorn, privet and holly. Ground cover consists of dog’s mercury and bramble but other plants include wood barley, fingered sedge, wild madder, bird’s-nest orchid, toothwort, lily of the valley and herb Paris. Lady Park Wood has a rich breeding bird community which includes all three woodpeckers, redstart, wood warbler, tawny owl, pied flycatcher and tree creeper. A variety of rare bats have been recorded in the NNR, in particular greater and lesser horseshoe bats, which are found here in significant numbers.
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Discover Monmouthshire
In their bid to control the borderlands of Monmouthshire – also known as the Marches – the Normans built a triangle of castles: Grosmont, Skenfrith and White. At first, they were simple wooden structures strengthened by earthworks, but when the lively Welsh refused to stop attacking them, it was decided more permanent fortresses were needed. All three are worth a visit and the views from the battlements at White Castle over the surrounding countryside to the Black Mountains are stunning, as is all the scenery in this area – consisting of a patchwork of low hills, hidden valleys, fields criss-crossed with hedgerows and small belts of woodland.
Monmouth itself makes a great base to explore the beautiful Wye Valley, as well as being known as the home of Rockfield Studios, where Queen recorded Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975. The largest town in the county, Abergavenny is creating a name for itself as the foodie capital of the Usk Valley, and has held a weekly cattle market on the same site since 1863. Its location just six miles from the English border means it’s often described as the ‘gateway to Wales’.
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