retiredmartin

Time for an overdue return to the award winning* “Half a dozen pubs in every GBG chapter“, which we rudely left in Glamorgan a month ago.

I’m a big fan of Gwent, partly because it’s so easy to get to Cambridge or Sheffield with whizzy motorway links, cheap chain hotels, and unpronounceable (to non-Welsh) place names.

Over simplifying, there’s two distinct aspects to Gwent. The Pits (Blaenavon, Ebbw Vale),

and the Posh (Monmouth, Raglan, Caerleon), places where they once voted Conservative before the Tories for blamed for the lack of Château d’Yquem 1969.

The Château d’Yquem may have gone in Raglan, but in Blaenavon they’ve just got vibration, a fair swap.

And I’ve got five pubs to give you a cross-section of the area, and I’ve even left the Boat at Penallt off the list so you can suggest it as the sixth.

The Boat is probably a classic, but I’m starting with another one.

1. Newport – Old Murenger House

I love Newport, but its scruffy underpasses and challenging art aren’t for everyone,

but the Murenger is smart and cosy,

a symphony in brown.

And if your only complaint about Sam Smiths is that you can’t use your mobile phone to order your Chinese takeaway then that’s a price worth paying.

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2. Chepstow – Five Alls

A bit underrated, apart from with the horseracing set, Chepstow is a delight.

AND they speak a language you’ll understand.

I can’t say any of the pubs have been classics over the years, but The Five Alls had a delightfully pubby feel on my Sunday night visit, a time when pubs are often dead.

“I didn’t even mind the beer choice. In fact the Bath IPA (a pint to end Gwent) was pretty stunning, but I couldn’t work out if it was NBSS 4.5 or 2.5, and I never thought I’d say that about Bath Ales.“

“It was a real cultural melting pot of a place, as the Beer Guide always says about the White Lion in Walsall.”

Sunday night was clearly not the quiet night.

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3. Llanfoist – Bridge

A mile from Abergavenny,

by the banks of the Usk, with a distinctly mature atmosphere I really warmed to despite not being mature myself,

“Three clans of Evans were being discussed in detail (“Evans above !”), and assorted strangers were brought in and out of the conversation, including a chap from Sydney who seemed to have got very lost.”

Note the old Hancocks HB Toastmaster sign. I remember HB being good, once (Cherry Tree, Tintern 1996).

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4. Llanthony Priory Hotel, Llanthony

A remote gem, less known than your Tan Hill Tavern and a lot simpler but with a similar “destination pub” crowd.

“Most of the custom for the basic hotel bar, set in the ruins of the priory, comes from Guardian readers headed for Hay Festival, bikers, hugging hippies and feral children.“

“You have to pinch yourself to remember there’s a Guide entry to tick somewhere, so surreal is the scene of bikers playing Hawkwind on portable speakers while cardiganed Guardianistas from  Cardigan Carshalton say things like “Easy, Tiger” and “Cruisin’ for a bruisin’ “.

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5. Upper Llanover – Goose and Cuckoo

Look at this gorgeous bit of OS contours, typically Gwent.

And the Goose and Cuckoo is typically unspoilt and homely for the county,

with hi-tech signage in place to guide you here from the nearest railway station,

which I think may be in Pontypool, so take care.

Someone mentioned this pub on LBC radio only last week, which made me want to go back, if only to take a photo that’s better than this one I ruined during my 2018 “psychedelic filter” phase.

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Over to you for a sixth. It’s got to be the Boat, surely ?

*Best costume design, Foreign Blog category, Lithuanian Social Media awards 2019.