Tintern is situated in the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is on the west bank of the River Wye, in Monmouthshire, Wales, close to the border with England, about 8.0 km north of Chepstow. It is popular with tourists, in particular for the scenery and the ruined Cistercian Tintern Abbey. I too visited the Abbey, however the focus of this visit was the Wireworks Bridge across the River Wye.
The bridge was built as part of the short branch line on the Wye Valley Railway, crossing the River Wye between Monmouthshire, Wales, and Gloucestershire, England. It was completed in 1874, opened in 1876 and closed in 1936. It is now a footpath. The bridge is a Grade II listed structure and has two listings, as is often the case with bridges that cross county borders;
in this case, a Welsh designation by Cadw for the section in Monmouthshire, and an English designation by Historic England for the section in Gloucestershire. The bridge was restored in 2022 at a cost of £1.5m.
The Bridge
The Abbey
Tintern Abbey was founded in 1131. It is situated adjacent to the village of Tintern in Monmouthshire, on the Welsh bank of the River Wye, which at this location forms the border between Monmouthshire in Wales and Gloucestershire in England. It was the first Cistercian foundation in Wales, and only the second in Britain (after Waverley Abbey). The present-day remains of Tintern are a mixture of building works covering a 400-year period between 1131 and 1536. In the reign of Henry VIII, the Dissolution of the Monasteries ended monastic life in England, Wales and Ireland. On 3 September 1536, Abbot Wych surrendered Tintern Abbey and all its estates to the King’s visitors and ended a way of life that had lasted 400 years. In 1984, Cadw took over responsibility for the site, which was Grade I listed from 29 September 2000.
Date of Visit: 9 June 2023
Barry's Borderpoints 