Gateway to Wales

By Linda Tancs

Adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England, Chepstow (meaning “marketplace” in Old English) is a town in Monmouthshire, Wales. Appropriately known as the “gateway to Wales,” you can appreciate what it’s like to have a foot in both jurisdictions by standing in the center of the town’s landmark iron bridge. Another gem is its Norman castle, built at a strategic point overlooking the River Wye. Within the castle is Marten’s Tower, named for its most famous prisoner, Henry Marten, who signed the death warrant for King Charles I.