A Free Day Out in Chepstow (And Why I Nearly Caused a Traffic Incident)
There are two things I do when I arrive somewhere new. The first is look around and take in the scenery. The second, which honestly happens first, is check the real estate prices. Chepstow. Population: gorgeous. Average one bedroom: £150,000. I hadn’t even got out of the car.
To be fair, I’d only just found the car park. Getting to Chepstow should have been straightforward. It was not. Welsh roundabouts are enormous, multi-exited, and apparently come with traffic lights that I treated more as a suggestion than a legal requirement. I went through a red light on one and spent a good thirty seconds genuinely bewildered by the beeping before it dawned on me what I’d done.
The Castle Will Make Your Jaw Drop (And You Don’t Have to Pay Full Price)
Chepstow Castle sits right on the River Wye, which means from the moment you approach it you’re getting that full dramatic effect — ancient stone towers rising straight out of the landscape, the river glittering below, clouds doing their best impression of a painting behind it all. It is magnificent. Genuinely, properly magnificent.
If you have an English Heritage membership you get in at half price, which is a very good reason to have one. But here’s the thing — you don’t actually have to go inside to have a spectacular time. The castle walls and towers from the outside are extraordinary, the riverside walk is free, and the views are all yours without spending a thing. We went in, because obviously we did, but I want you to know the free version is still very much worth the trip.
Just across from the castle is the Chepstow Tourist Information Centre, which doubles as a café. Cold drink, friendly staff, and you’re standing there looking straight at a 900 year old castle. Worse ways to start a day.
The Museum Is Free and Actually Interesting
Chepstow Museum is a short walk from the castle and costs nothing to enter. It’s housed in a lovely old building and gives you a proper sense of the town’s history without making you feel like you’re doing homework. We had a good wander around and I came out knowing considerably more about Chepstow than when I went in, which is always a pleasing outcome.
The town itself has that lovely mix of locals just going about their day and tourists slightly dazed by how pretty everything is. Old buildings, a pub dating back to 1500 that I photographed with great enthusiasm, and that particular Welsh quality of looking like it hasn’t been fussed over too much. It feels real. We both loved it immediately.
Then We Had Coffee and Shortbread
This is a crucial part of any free day out. The café stop. Somewhere between the museum and the drive to the abbey we sat down with coffee and shortbread and agreed that Chepstow had gone straight onto our list of favourite places. That list is not short. Chepstow earned its spot.
Tintern Abbey Will Absolutely Stop You in Your Tracks
About fifteen minutes drive from Chepstow, tucked into the Wye Valley, is Tintern Abbey. There are not enough words for Tintern Abbey. It is enormous. It is Gothic. It is the kind of ruin that makes you stand there with your mouth slightly open wondering how humans built this and also why they let it fall apart.
Here is the beautiful thing — you can see an enormous amount of it without spending a dollar. Walk the streets around it. The great Gothic facade, those soaring window arches open to the sky, the sheer scale of the thing — all visible, all free, all completely breathtaking. I got some of my favourite photos of the entire Wales trip standing outside on a public road.
If you want to go inside, absolutely do. But if budget is tight, don’t let that stop you coming. Tintern Abbey from the outside is still one of the most dramatic things you’ll see in this part of the world.
Chepstow. Go.
Heather and I drove home agreeing it was one of our best days. A magnificent castle, a free museum, a charming town, coffee and shortbread, and one of the most spectacular abbey ruins in Britain — most of it free, all of it wonderful.
Just watch the roundabout lights. Learn from my mistakes.
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