Coincidentally my friend was visiting her brother in England with her two young boys at the same time we planned our trip, so we have been waiting for the day to show them around our old stomping grounds and share the history we absolutely love.
At the same time, we added a Roman Bath and Amphitheatre on the itinerary we hadn’t seen yet. Which is our first stop.
Just north of Newport both of the Roman spots were accessible — much like the Coliseum in Rome, the Amphitheatre in Newport was pretty impressive. It’s somewhat escalated, and in a way, we can wander into the middle (you know, where the gladiators would have fought).
Just around the corner were the baths. Again with cold, warm and hot baths to go between.
Next is Chepstow Castle. For anyone who had visited us in Wales, knows this is one of our favorite spots. A picnic on the grounds and a good climb to the top — nothing beats it.
Another favorite right around the corner is Tintern Abbey. Sadly the renovation made the visit a little less impressive, but I never get tired of seeing these arches.
Back to Caerphilly and we dropped our friends at the Caephilly Castle to explore while we dropped the car off to walk back down for dinner.
A lovely Italian dinner with a view of Caerphilly Castle some friends again, and finishing the night with some ice cream on our walk home.
The next day, we wandered back over to the castle for the Big Cheese festival. This annual event pulls in a ton of food trucks and vendors on the castle grounds, and the main event of the cheese run.
Our friends had a train to catch and we had to drive to London, so just a short visit and we officially say goodbye to Wales again. Until next time.
