Caldicot

Caldicot (Welsh: Cil-y-coed) is a small town in Monmouthshire. It is a pleasant small town with several local historic attractions. This Welsh border town is home to a significant, complete castle and country park with free access to the public, a large Roman villa with remains of municipal buildings and a temple in Caerwent. The town is set on the gateway to Wales and is an excellent first stop for visitors.

Get in

Rogiet's ruined windmill

By car

Accessible from the M4. Equally placed between both of the Severn Bridges, but be careful as the convenient M48 linking them doesn't have a turn-off for Caldicot. Simplest route is to use the M4 across the newer Second Severn Crossing, then come off at the first Junction 23 (with the services) and then take the road through Magor.

By train

1 Caldicot train station is on the line between Newport and Gloucester, including services to Chepstow. The number of trains passing is quite high, the number that stop is rather fewer.

Caldicot is close to the even smaller village of Rogiet, which does however contain the small but reasonably busy 2 Severn Tunnel Junction railway station. This also serves the line to Bristol, Bath and even London Paddington. It's often quicker to walk the mile between them than to wait at Caldicot. Note that Rogiet exists because of its railway junction, not as a destination. A few bemused travellers are sometimes stranded here and may be seen searching in vain for any source of refreshment. Services are actually very good, with the line between Bristol and Cardiff giving good services to Bath, Newport and even London. In the other direction are services to Caldicot, Chepstow and Gloucester.

By bus

Caldicot has many bus stops on the X73 route from Newport and Chepstow.

Get around

Most of the town is walkable.

See

• 1 Caldicot Castle. This old castle is quite interesting. Many events throughout the year, particularly over the Summer school holidays. Local residents can bring their heritage card for free entry, otherwise there is a modest admission charge.  

Grotto, Dewstow Gardens

• 2 Dewstow Grotto. A bizarre underground grotto, set in landscaped gardens. Buried during World War II and only re-discovered and excavated decades later. Remarkably unusual and well worth seeing.  
• 3 Venta Silurum, Caerwent. Site of the Roman town and tribal capital of the Silures, most of Venta Silurum's remains date from the 4th century, including the impressive 5 metre-high town wall, houses, forum-basilica and a Romano-British temple, the latter highlighting how Romanisation often existed in harmony with older local traditions.  
• 4 Victorian works for the Severn Railway Tunnel, Sudbrook. If you like Victorian history, or just a close-up view of the Second Severn Crossing, it's more interesting than it sounds.  

Rogiet Churches: There are two churches, possibly dating from the 13th century, in and near the village. St Mary's is the village's church. The redundant St Michael and All Angels in nearby Llanfihangel is usually closed, but opens for occasional concerts. Llanfihangel is not such a bustling metropolis as Rogiet; less a village and more of a farmyard.

Do

• 1 Caldicot and Wentloog Levels. Number of waymarked walks in the alluvial wetland and intertidal mudflats adjoining the north bank of the Severn Estuary. (updated Nov 2016)

Buy

A modest town centre, becoming increasingly depleted by empty shops and high rents. Functional for locals, but not a shopping destination of choice. A well-stocked, albeit somewhat bemused, branch of Waitrose arrived here a few years ago.

Caldicot has an open air market on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Eat

There are multiple cafes, a Mediterranean restaurant and an Indian restaurant in the town centre, along with several public houses serving food, including The Castle Pub on the edge of the Castle Park. Several ore restaurants can be found in nearby Magor and the surrounding area.

• Fratellis, ☏ +44 1291 408200. 

• 1 Castle Inn, 64 Church Road, ☏ +44 1291 420509. (updated Nov 2016)

Drink

Caldicot is famous for its pubs and the populace's love of drink. Despite this, many are now closed and boarded, same as most other UK towns.

• The Measure (The Good Measure). This pub serves overpriced but drinkable lagers to all sorts of weird and wonderful. Pool matches on a Sunday must be experienced if the chance arises. Some have compared it to drinking in the chimpanzee section of the zoo. (updated Apr 2020)
• The Galleon. This is where the young and rich of Caldicot come to drink cocktails and dance to pretentious dance music. Strict clothes policy on the door means come prepared to dress up to see how the other half live. Its architectural merits hint at the sophisticated atmosphere within. 
• The Haywain. This is part of the sizzling steak co chains pubs. Offers fine food at low prices. In fact it is the cheapest pub in Caldicot. Just don't expect service or clientèle to match. 
• 24 hours of Flap. New bar opened on the outskirts of Caldicot in a field. Famed for offering outdoor raves on weekends and almost seeming as though it never closes. Advance tickets for the Saturday Slosh Pot are recommended (available from Kibbys fish and chips in the shopping district) due to large numbers attending. Very gay friendly in fact some locals think too much. 

Sleep

• 1 The Lychgate, 47 Church Rd, NP26 4HW, ☏ +44 1291 422378. (updated Aug 2016)

Go next

• Chepstow
• Newport

Routes through Caldicot

Cardiff ← Newport ←	W  E	→ Bristol (via Second Severn bridge) → London
Cardiff ← Newport ←	W  NE	→ Chepstow → Gloucester