Can’t get the old tune out of my head now.  It was our last day of tripping around the SW, and we headed to Abergavenny in Wales.  So glad we did.  Thank goodness for the Aldi car park as the spaces were at a premium elsewhere  in the thick of tourist season.

A wonderful find is St Mary’s Priory and Tithe Barn. Being part of Henry V’s family connections saved the priory during later attempts to dismantle the monastaries and it now boasts the most precious examples of medieval treasures in the country dating back to the mid 1300s.  The Priory has the Lewis and Williams family connections back to the Battle of Agincourt, and the splendid curatorial work in the Priory is a credit to all concerned.

I was intrigued by the chainmail with the cross hanging from the pulpit as well as the reclining figures on the coffins of regal and important families whose dog statues under their feet are meant as safeguards to the next life.

The Tithe Barn (notice the slope and thickness of the walls) next door once held the tithe taxes of the locals, but now is the Information Centre and Tea Rooms, as well as housing the most inspiring tapestry of the local history in the style of the Bayeux Tapestry.  60 women took ages to make the tapestry to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the Priory…wow!  The museum with its descriptions and clothing displays was a worthy town attraction!

The most amazing piece in the church is the oldest wood carving known to be in existence …the Jesse sculpture.   The detail has to be seen to be believed!  www.stmarys-priory.org

Then it was a billowing cloud kind of return journey via the Brecon Beacons and the rolling countryside through the pine forests of the National Park.  A very memorable day.