Monmouthshire-born travel writer Helen Werin had circumnavigated the globe by the time she was nine – and has barely stopped travelling since. But it took her nearly 30 years to appreciate what had been on her doorstep all along in South-East Wales.
There’s always been a certain rivalry between near-neighbours Newport and Cardiff. Understandably, the Welsh capital likes to think that it can win hands down when it comes to tourism. After all it has the remarkably-transformed bay area with its multitude of attractions, as well as the most ostentatious castle you can imagine, wonderful museums and a myriad of places to eat, shop and be entertained. But that’s to grossly underestimate the appeal of what Newport and its’ environs has to offer. I should know; Newport is my home ‘town’. Dull and industrial though the city, as it is now deemed, may at first appear to the unenlightened, my fiercely inbred loyalty insists that I defend it. The fact that I hadn’t been back for other than a fleeting visit for nearly 30 years actually proved a huge bonus. It made me look at Newport with ‘fresh’ eyes. Indeed, I visited fascinating places that had been right under my nose when I lived there but, I’m almost ashamed to say, had never actually set foot in. More than anything my visit made me realise that, historically, the Newport area is an absolute gem. We went from one of the most important military sites in Roman Britain at Caerleon to the medieval wonder that is Raglan Castle. In between we were charmed by the ‘jewel in Newport’s crown’ that is the 17th century Tredegar House, home to a family whose wealth soared even more with the industrial revolution, to the very heart of that revolution itself that is the World Heritage Site of Blaenavon. Add to that a visit to the landmark Transporter Bridge – undoubtedly the finest of its kind in the world – and you can perhaps share my enthusiasm, bias or not. Perhaps best of all we pitched in the leafy grounds of the aforesaid Tredegar House at the Caravan Club’s site, which, as it is almost on the Cardiff Road, enables one to have the ‘best of both worlds’. We could have stayed right in the centre of Cardiff, in Sophia Gardens, next to the castle. From there water buses could have taken us to Cardiff Bay and the Victorian ‘seaside’ town of Penarth. However, we wanted to get away from the traffic and congestion of the ‘big’ city. Basing ourselves in Newport also opened up the rest of Monmouthshire. We only had to walk a few minutes from our pitch to the striking red brick Tredegar House. I remembered it as a Catholic school, the ‘rival’ to my own school slightly further down the road. What a wonderful surprise then to step inside and be amazed at the grandeur of the interior, particularly the glamour of the gilt room. The interior is in parts restored to its 17th century origins and in others to a 1930s’ style. Our engaging guide was Paul Busby, whose enthusiasm for the house is such that he has written a book about Evan Morgan, its’ eccentric final resident. Curiously there are no corridors, with the rooms noticeably grander the further you walk in. Paul explained the reason for this. Guests would have had some idea of their standing with the fabulously wealthy owners, the Morgan family, as the more well-liked or respected that they were the further they were allowed inside. Paul describes the house as a ‘work in progress’ with 26 of the 90 rooms open to the public. Thankfully, during the 23 years it was a school the nuns had such foresight as to save ‘bits’ of the décor as it fell off, in particular the elaborate carvings from the oak-filled state dining room. These were kept in a desk drawer in the Old Library. Paul told me that the drawer was filled with a “bit of nose here, a snake there, a touch of mane, etc..”, most of which were reattached during the restoration process.
The adjective could well have been invented for the Butes; the overwhelmingly lavish Gothic fantasy that is Cardiff Castle was their holiday home. This was, after all, a family that had a potted vine set into their dinner table so that they could pick fresh grapes for dessert. Imagine, if you will, the interior of an Arabian palace with stained glass windows set with prisms to reflect the light of the carved gold ceilings, and you’ll get some idea of the opulence. And that’s just one of the rooms; the Arab room where the ladies took their tea. Then there’s a magnificent banqueting hall with minstrels’ gallery and one breathtaking room after another, with murals and friezes and detailed craftsmanship. I’m sure you get the picture.
The lifestyle of the show-off Butes was in even sharper contrast to our next visit to the National History Museum at St Fagans. With the air filled with the wonderful aroma of freshly baked bread, we wandered around centuries-old timber cottages, home to blacksmiths, saddlers and millers. More than 40 original buildings from different periods in Welsh history, including schools and chapels, have been re-erected brick by brick in the 100 acres of grounds of the 16th century manor house of St Fagans Castle. Its’ former owner, the Earl of Plymouth, donated the property and land to the people of Wales. Now the museum, like all of Wales’ national museums and galleries, is free to all, as befits the legacy. Some of the most outstanding legacies of all, though, lie on Newport’s ‘side’. The one that stands out the most, of course, is the Transporter Bridge. The bridge truly is Newport’s ‘symbol’. I may have glided over the murky Usk in the gondola, and been ‘over the top’ far too many times to remember, but the novelty never wears off. Sadly, the bridge was closed for repairs at the time of our visit, but the thrill of standing there, under the 74m (242ft) towers hadn’t dimmed. I did get to see inside the motor house where Martin Newman, the fitter, presides over what is, undoubtedly, his ‘baby’; albeit one ‘born’ in 1906. It seems that the dear old Transporter has suffered since the building of the new city bridge upriver. As soon as that opened in 2004 the Transporter’s traffic dropped from about 500 cars a day to 60. Nevertheless, Martin keeps the bridge “ticking over” until the funds turn up to get it back on its feet. He and Eddie Edmunds, the conductor, remain ever hopeful of this - especially with the Ryder Cup coming to Newport in 2010 and the fanfare that will precede it.
It was a joy, then, after my rather poignant experience at the Transporter Bridge, to go somewhere that you might think would be long buried – literally – but has enjoyed a massively successful resurgence. I’m talking about Big Pit at Blaenavon. The 200-year-old mine may have closed in 1980, but as the award-winning National Coal Museum it now attracts over 140,000 visitors a year. The mountainside above Blaenavon is about as bleak and unwelcoming as it is possible to be; indeed there was snow here in October. Once inside Big Pit though, we were kitted out with lamps and emergency respirators by the friendliest of ex-miners eager to show us what underground life was like for them and the thousands of other men who worked at the coal face. Without doubt this was the highlight of our visit to South Wales, dramatically enhanced by the knowledge and enthusiasm of our guide, Robert Bishop. It was exciting enough to make the 90m (300ft) descent of the mineshaft in a cage and slightly more unnerving when Robert casually informed us that only weeks before 120 tourists had had to walk the 2.4km (1.5miles) along the ‘emergency’ way out after a power cut halted the cage. But the harsh realities of being deep underground really kicked in when Robert told us a very personal story about the dangers, particularly from gas. His emergency respirator, the same as the ones strapped to our hips, saved his life 20 years ago. We all returned to the surface, in absolute awe of the miners, to collect our mobile phones and battery-operated watches of which we had been divested. A vital safety measure? You bet! The tiniest spark from one of these devices could trigger a potentially lethal explosion.
Our last stop was to take us much further back in time. In Caerleon, on the east side of Newport, the fortress of the Legion housed 5,000 soldiers in its’ heyday, with an amphitheatre, temples and shops and what appears to have been a giant leisure centre. The ‘Crown Jewels’ here are the dozens of gemstones found in the drainage system, loosened from Roman jewellery by the humidity in the baths. As we entered the Roman Baths exhibition, which displays a large part of the swimming pool and the cold, tepid and sauna-like bathing areas, I couldn’t help but be amused by the sign which read: This is not a public swimming pool. It seems that so many prospective modern-day bathers were turning up with their towels and swimming costumes that the curators felt obliged to put them right. Surely these couldn’t be the tourists from Brazil, Australia and the U.S., who had signed the guest book? My guess is that they were people from not too far away at all, unaware of the fabulous treasures on their doorstep – just like me.
CAMP SITES * The Caravan Club site, Tredegar Park, Coedkernew, Newport, NP10 8TW. 80 pitches. Open all year. 01633 815600. www.caravanclub.co.uk
INFORMATION * Big Pit: National Coal Museum, Blaenavon. NP4 9XP. 01495 790311. www.nmgw.ac.uk *Cardiff Castle; www.cardiffcastle.com *National Roman Legion Museum, High Street, Caerleon, NP18 1AE. 01633 423134. For Roman Baths complex, amphitheatre and barrack block call 01633 422518. *National History Museum, St Fagans, 029 2057 3500. www.nmgw.ac.uk
WHAT TO SEE *Whenever I spot Raglan castle from the A40 I feel I am coming ‘home’. This impressive landmark from the 15th century has towers with wonderful views of the beautiful Monmouthshire countryside from the top, a moat, spooky dungeons and the remains of state apartments to explore. www.cadw.wales.gov.uk *Techniquest, in Cardiff Bay, may be a child’s paradise, with the chance to fire a rocket, launch a hot air balloon or make music with your feet, but Robin and I had great fun too with the 160 or so hands-on exhibits. You can also conduct science experiments and there are science theatre and planetarium shows (book at the ticket desk). Most of the exhibits are designed, developed and built at Techniquest. One of them was sold recently to NASA. www.techniquest.org 029 2047 5475. * Newport Museum and Art Gallery, John Frost Square, has an archive of all the original designs for the Transporter Bridge plus photographs of its entire construction as well as a fascinating collection of weapons, broadsheets, silver and prints from the 1839 Chartist protest in Newport. 01633 656656. *Blaenavon Ironworks, founded in 1788, was one of the largest in the world. Now at the hub of Blaenavon World Heritage Site, it is one of the most important monuments to have survived from the early part of the industrial revolution. You can also visit the nearby workman’s cottages of Stack Square (1789-1792) which each housed up to eight people. www.world-heritage-blaenavon.org.uk 01495 792615. * Caerleon is an attractive town, with plentiful pubs, restaurants, gift shops and tea rooms. Many premises are constructed of 'Roman' stone. It is also home to the National Roman Legion, the amphitheatre which once could seat up to 6,000 spectators and the only Roman barracks block visible in Europe. * Dr Who exhibition, Red Dragon Centre, Cardiff Bay, is probably best visited by die-hard Dr Who fans. There are props, costumes and monsters and it’s within easy walking distance of many of the key locations seen in the Dr Who and Torchwood programmes. www.doctorwhoexhibition.com/cardiff.html 029 2048 9257 *National Museum, Civic Centre, Cardiff. www.museumwales.ac.uk 029 2039 7951. One of the largest collections of Impressionist paintings outside of Paris, with works by Renoir, Monet and Cezanne on display. Free entry, closed Mondays. * Walk down the player’s tunnel and try out the Queen’s seat in the Royal box on a tour (when there are no matches or concerts on) of the Millennium Stadium, Westgate Street, Cardiff. www.millenniumstadium.com 029 2082 2228. * Take a backstage tour of the Wales Millennium Centre, in Cardiff Bay, stage of international opera, ballet and musicals. www.wmc.org.uk 08700 40 2000,
WHERE TO EAT *The Bell Inn, Bulmore Road, Caerleon. Welsh hospitality at its best but with a Breton twist. Regular events include folk music, clogging and Morris dancing. 01633 420613 www.thebellatcaerleon.co.uk *Junction 28, Station Approach, Bassaleg, (five minutes from Caravan Club site), 01633 891891. www.junction28.com Two course lunch menu from £11.95.
TIPS *Avoid junction 28 of the M4 (near Tredegar House) at peak times as there are long queues. In and out of Newport you can take a detour from the Caravan Club site through the Duffryn estate and past Asda. * A park and ride service operates from County Hall car park in Cardiff Bay to the centre on Saturdays only. Free pedal powered Velo taxis can take two passengers to most locations around the city centre (pick up points around the city). *The Tranporter Bridge was closed completely for repairs at the time of writing. For more information visit www.newport.gov.uk Also see Newport Museum (as above).
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The story behind Tredegar House was a fitting contrast to our experience in Cardiff the next day. Whilst Godfrey Morgan, the first Viscount Tredegar, was so admired as a philanthropist and benefactor that he was, unusually, still alive when his statue was unveiled, the castle-owning Bute family members were almost obscenely ostentatious.
