Things to do in Newport

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Things To do in Newport, South Wales, Newport Gwent,

Shops, museuam, library, singing, dancing, pub, ice skating, curling, football, rugby, athletics, running, birding, history, reading, watchjing tv, and computers, libraries, museums, Celtic manor golf course, and for those who like night life there are famous nightclubs like TJs

Newport is a town founded in the Norman conquest of Wales. It sits on the Usk river as it enters the Bristol Cahnnel, The castle of the Normans was built in 1090, it grew to be called Newport, a major port soon, given a charter in the late 14thC. A ship was found from the Medieval era in the recent days.

The best claim to fame of this town, is that it had the last major attenpt at a uprisng in British history.

In 1839 Chartists were clammering for the vote, fresh from teh killing of 100s during anger at the House of Lords refusing to accept more democracy in 1831, the Chartists had been carrying on trying to create a democartic nation. They had seen the liorsd back down in 1831, but many wanted a revoklution. So in the 1830s revolutionary grousp founded in the South Wales valleys, linked to mines and industrial groups in the whoel of Britain. .In 1839 7000 people from the valleys, marched armed, and prepared to takeover, but other places did not revolt, In the end a batch of soldiers in a Inn in Newport were able to hold off the rebels, 20 of the miners were shot dead, in the event, with the rebels forced to flee. Some were senmt to Australia. Britain now had to wait another few decades for most men to have eth vote and almost a centiry for all royal and Lords power to be ended. In eth meantime, the end result fo the failure of this revolt, was the Irish Famine, and El Nino famines.

To then for a very long time Welsh unlike in most of Wales was not the main langage, here. But there were a few towns on the road to Chepstow still speaking Welsh as in North East Wales, but from now the remnants of Welsh spoken in this town reduced too, and across Wales. Newport had tradionally been among the Marcher towsn, you know the [places after 1066 taken over by Norman barons, along with some parst of Glamorgan while much of Wales held out from Norman rule till the late 13thc.

It is a town of around 90,000 people, and sits near Cardiff, and Britsol, for people who would like to visit other large places. It has a shopping area in the town centre, and shops in tegh houses that surround it on the hills and vallys around it.

Newport is famous for it's rugby team, Newport Gwent Dragons, but has no Welsh League, or English League football team. but has a minor Welsh league's team, and Newport AFC in the English non-league system. Newports AFC have acheived great things though in Europe, as a former self, and hope to be promoted soon.

It has a castle, part of which was demolished for the building of a railway, earlier in the town's history. Plus many supermarkets, and many streets. It is the capital of Gwent and South East Wales.

It has a university the University of Wales, Newport, which does many different courses.

Take care when booking Newport to be in the right one, I saw a group of tourists in Newpotrt once angry that they had arrived in newport South Wales, not Newport Isle Of wight as the y expected.

the city has among the largest car smashers in teh world.

Nearby places to Newport include

Caerleon, where the University of Wales, Newport is based. formerly UWCN.

Caerleon has a population of 7000 people in 2006, is higher up the Usk.but still low down it. just a few miles from Newport

It is famous for it;s Roman heritage, it has a amphetheatre, it has a lareg number of buildings of Roman history,

A place that still sits there in the corner, of the town, or edge, with it seeing tourists almost daily. In past ot had galadiators and shows, and anything, The Roman situation is as it is a fort from 74ad, BUILT here as it it among the furthest North pasrt of the USk able to be furnished by the sea in revolt by the Romans, and able to be defended. It grew to be a large place including it's outer town, where peopel lived outside the walls, of 20,000 people. Even small places and forst of the 10s of Roman small forts across Wales at the time had small settlements. Serving the soldiers, soldiers earning their keep by being paid tax from local tribes. This Caerleon was far larger than the hamlets and viallges and slave manors of otrher places in Wales, of a few ports and river crossings and valleys. This place was the largest place in Wales by far. It had a garrison for 1000s of Roman Troops and baths for the public, and more, a huge centre able to pacify the local tribes and nation. It in fable is said to have seen some Christians martyred here, quite early on.

Some say even in the Norman conquest the area was a major Welsh stronghold, with certain parst demolished of the town as it was so special to Welsh nationalism. With some liking to think King Arthur, was baed here, in the hillfort and centre. Giraldus of Wales, a Welsh patriot to some senses was proud of Caerleon, and made up his semi-mythical history partly based on here. In the 4thC Caerleon beacem, less of a major town. With military bases moved to the coast as of the civil wars that racked the empire.

The bridge from the Roman era, only fell in the 18thc. Even today the name Caerleon means Caer for fort, and Leon comes from probabaly of teh legion.

The name Cymry is from trhe Welsh word fellow countrymen. and Welsh probabaly the Barbarian word for Romanised people's. why there are so many people called Welch or names like that on teh old Roman borders.

There is also Tintern Abbey. only just over a dozen miles East of the city of Newport. This is a remains of abbey, with the skeleton of the Medieval Monk's homes, strill there. Towering into the air, like many of the monasteries closed down iin the 16thCentuiry during the Reformation. Founded in 1138, it still has a ability to attract tourists and sits in the sunny wye valley floor, with tourists paying to enter.

Chepstow, this town is in Wales, by virtue of it sitting on the West bank of the Wye Valley, so Chepstow is in Wales for those of you who would like to know.

Caerwent, ano the r of the towsn of the Roman heritage of this area. It sits half way to Chepstow, and Tintern Abbey, so half way to the border. It tioday is just a little village, but in the past was the civitas centre for tyhe trieb of the Silurni. Just 2 miles from eth River Severn, this place was part of a Roman policy of letting tribes run themselves, so eth Roman Empire woudl get eth cash, and the tribes would run thsemelevs, and become pacified and Roman. Even todfay there are still archaeological finds, from thsi place. It has eth remians of Roman walls, of shiops and hiomes aroudn it, and forums, built klate in the era of eth empire, top hold off attacks, from enemies. It still today has a great number of finds to see. Only in the 1980s, archaeologists trowled away the surface and found a blue and white lareg tioeld floor, , they found feragments of pottery withg people's face son,

Yes the Silures thats right the tribe that fought the Romans, for so long in the ri invasion of Britain, after other tribes were defeated. Yes they let in some of the biggest name leaders from England;s Britions, and once defeated they saw their leader adulated in Rome, as a noble Native. There settlements were all fortified and ready fro attack they had round huts, and were able to hold off victory to the 50s.With the Roman legiosn having to build forts here. The Roman Empire had only a few legionary fortresses in Britain at one time. One was built in 74 AD in Caerleon, to fuinish off the Silure resistance, With the o the r in Chester, to also hold off other rebelious tribes in less easy to conquer mountainous Wales. Caerwent, and Caerleon grew to be quite larges and among the largest towns in Wales, by far. Roman coions were pasisng through the nads, of tradesmen, and shjops, with slaves in the many parts of Roman Wales. Buts oem parst of Wales were left quite top their own, ways, with Irom AGe ways and religon,m aswell as Roman Still tioday a large stone sits ion Chepstiow saying how the Siluirne were running the snmelves,. from the ri civitas, noevd from near hillforst to here by Romans, who built eth town.

The place saw Roman troops leave, and the place remained quiote strong. It ios felt that the area was able to last off the NAglo Saxon attacks better partkly as of this area being more develoved and able to mamage atacks, from them better.

Still today large walls surround Caerwentm, built in the j katre Roman era.

Caerwent still today offers a great example of name changes across history. The town was called in the Roman era Venta Silurum, or marjket of eth Silurbni, and became Caer went, caer means fort in Welsh. almost all places with Caer in probaably are old Romanm, or other places forts.

Trellech once the largest town in Wales in tej ate 13thC, sits ion South East Wale's Northern portion, now just a village with a alrge chucrh.

Tretower, sits some miles nOrth of Newport in North Gwent, and is an example of Marcehr lord's bases, It is a tower, witha court around it. It was built of motte and baily at start in the upper valley of the USk, in the late 11thC, where the valleys bmeet mouintains, that were less easy to take for early Normans, and not taklen till later. It has a priory from 1100, tretower court and castle, started to be turned to stone in the 12th century. With in later days the court and tower built. At times Welsh leader retook the area, and castle but then .lost it again. In the 14thC it turned into a house, fro lords,

So in the 11thC there was a motte and bailey, then in the mid 12thC, a shell created on the motte, you know the hill bit, in the 12thC stone replaced timber castles, the 13thc saw the tower built, With the court built from the more peaceful 14thC, and the place developed to the 1630s, It became a humble farm in teh 17thC,

Poor people at the time, unlike us now, lived in longhouses, huts and towns's small homes.

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