Llangynidr village
The holiday cottage sits in lower Llangynidr, near the church (completely rebuilt after a fire in 1928, thought to have originated in the early Medieval era) and very close to the Red Lion pub. After a brief 5 minute walk down the country lanes opposite the cottage, you will find the gorgeous Monmouthshire and Brecon canal and a further 5 minutes of walking will take you to the river Usk. In upper Llangynidr you will find the local shop – Walnut Tree Stores, another pub – the Coach and Horses – situated at a flight of locks on the canal. The two Llangynidrs are separated by the showfield, tennis courts and the village hall, where the annual agricultural show is held. There’s also a regular farmers’ market on the last Sunday of the month. The whole village is overlooked by the stunning Llangynidr mountain, and has views towards the Table mountain.
History
Formerly part of the manor of Tretower, Llangynidr village was granted to Sir William Herbert in 1442, which I know thanks to wikipedia. One of my relatives, Dorothea Watkins, also wrote a book on the history of the village, which is called Shadows in the Landscape, available from Amazon (or in my case, my Dad’s bookcase. Thank you Dad!).
To give you more of a flavour of the place, here’s an excerpt from the Crickhowell and district official guide to Llangynidr (published in 1961 and costing 1/6!).
‘Llangynidr is a scattered village in pretty surroundings on the south bank of the River Usk some four miles from Crickhowell. It is more easily approached from Crickhowell by the road on the southern side of the river, but may also be approached from the main Crickhowell to Brecon road by turning left on approaching Bwlch. The southern route follows the line of the river for half of the distance and then the Brecon/Newport canal to Llangynidr, providing excellent views of the valley. While the other route takes the traveller over the old stone river bridge at Llangynidr which provides rewarding views of singular beauty both up and downstream.
From Llangynidr the Duffryn Crawnon and Glaisfer valleys cut deeply into the northern slopes of Mynydd Llangnidr, both providing pleasant walks or drives and giving access to the mountain slopes beyond. Tor-y-foel, a hill which rises prominently to the west of the village, is easily accessible from the road on the north west side of Duffryn Crawnon. The mountain road (easily negotiable by car) from Llangynidr to Beaufort provides a magnificent panoramic view to the north including Llangorse Lake in its beautiful setting. The return journey from this point may be made by a further mountain road which descends to Llangattock, again providing wonderful views of the Usk valley.’
