page_title: Monmouth
section_title: Sport, leisure and tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Monmouth / Sport, leisure and tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: Nelson or Monmouth Museum
context_page_description: Monmouth is both the historic county town of Monmouthshire in Wales and a community. Situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, 2 miles of the Wales–England border. Monmouth is 30 miles northeast of Cardiff, and 113 miles west of London. It is within the Monmouthshire local authority, and the parliamentary constituency of Monmouth. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8,877 in 2001.
  The town was the site of a small Roman fort, Blestium, and became established after the Normans built a castle c. 1067. The medieval stone gated bridge is the only one of its type remaining in Britain. The castle later came into the possession of the House of Lancaster, and was the birthplace of King Henry V in 1386. In 1536, it became the county town of Monmouthshire.
  A market town and a focus of educational and cultural activities for the surrounding rural area, Monmouth has become a tourism centre at the heart of the Wye Valley.
context_section_description: Monmouth is home to Monmouth Town F.C., a football club founded around 1905 and enjoying a relatively successful run of form.  Monmouth Town F.C. plays in the Welsh Football League Division One at the Chippenham Sports Ground, located at Blestium Street.
  The town has a leisure centre, on the site of the comprehensive school, with a 20m x 10m swimming pool. In 2011 the swimming pool underwent a £300,000 refurbishment.
  There is an 18-hole golf course on the edge of the town, as well as the Rolls Golf Club at The Hendre.  Monmouth is also home to Monmouth Rowing Club, taking advantage of the River Wye.  There are also cricket, bowls and rugby clubs.
  Monmouth has been established as a tourist centre for some 200 years.  It is in close proximity to the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley.  Tourist attractions within the town include the castle, the museum, the Nelson Garden and the Shire Hall where the Tourist Information Centre and visitor centre is located. The area is also attractive to walkers. Both the Offa's Dyke Path, a long distance footpath beginning in Chepstow and finishing in North Wales, and the Wye Valley Walk passing through the town.
  Monmouth is the current training base for the Welsh Men's National Lacrosse team. The team trained at Monmouth Girls School in preparation for the 2014 world championships.
  On 20 May 2020 the specialist international beekeeping charity organisation Bees for Development announced that Monmouth had become a "Bee Town", the first of its kind in the UK.  As well as being home to the charity, the town hosts an annual Bee Festival" various bee-themed events, and its County and Town Councils have special policies in place for pollinators.
caption: The Market Hall contains council offices and Monmouth Museum.
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