The River Usk begins life as a peaty trickle on the slopes of Fan Brycheiniog in the Brecon Beacons National Park.   By the time it reaches the pretty market town of Brecon it is a sizeable river flowing swiftly along a lush green valley separating the Brecon Beacons and the Black Mountains.   At Abergavenny, a bustling market town dominated by its ruined Norman castle, the river leaves the National Park and meanders past quaint villages and the historic market town of Usk before entering the Severn Estuary at Newport.

The Usk Valley Walk follows the River Usk upstream from Caerleon, just north of Newport, to Brecon.   Never straying very far from the river, this easy walk follows field, woodland and riverside paths, forest tracks and the towpath of the Monmouth and Brecon Canal through an unspoilt landscape of rolling hills, patchwork fields and woodland.   Along the way it visits several charming villages and little towns including Usk, Abergavenny and Crickhowell; passes a succession of inviting waterside inns; and takes in a wide variety of sites of historic interest such as the extensive Roman remains at Caerleon, the castle ruins at Usk and Abergavenny, Brecon Cathedral and St Mary's Church at Abergavenny, which has the finest collection of effigies in Britain.   Other highlights include the wonderful views of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains from the canal towpath, the wildflowers along the riverbanks and the birdlife on the river.

Usk Valley © Photowales

Walking along the Monmouth and Brecon Canal © CWH