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Principal area · Wales

Monmouthshire

Explore Monmouthshire’s Wye and Usk valleys through market towns, canal heritage, medieval castles and Tintern Abbey.

Quick facts

Type of place
Principal area
Nation
Wales
Official identifier
gss:W06000021

Overview

Monmouthshire is a principal area in Wales. Its Wye and Usk valleys contain the market towns of Abergavenny, Monmouth and Usk. Upland scenery, canal heritage, castles and an abbey provide different ways to explore the area’s landscape and history.

Monmouthshire is a principal area in Wales.

Population and demographics

Land area
849.13 km²

Figures for . ONS EW MYE25 workbook geography: Notes April 2024; landing edition 2023 boundaries.

Office for National Statistics · ons-mid-2025 · MYE5!D364 (binary spreadsheet decimal rounded to 6 dp). Released 29 July 2026.

Open Government Licence v3.0 · Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0

Population
95,329 people

Figures for . ONS EW MYE25 workbook geography: Notes April 2024; landing edition 2023 boundaries.

Office for National Statistics · ons-mid-2025 · MYE2 - Persons!D364. Released 29 July 2026.

Open Government Licence v3.0 · Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0

Population density: 112.3 people per km²

Calculated from the population and land area for 30 June 2025, using figures from the same release and covering the same boundaries.

Valleys, uplands and the canal

Near Abergavenny, the Skirrid, Blorenge and Sugar Loaf give the landscape an upland setting. The market towns sit within the Wye and Usk valleys, providing a different perspective from these hills. The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal runs into the area from Bannau Brycheiniog. At Goytre Wharf, surviving limekilns add a further historical feature to the canal setting.

Castles and Tintern Abbey

Chepstow’s early stone castle stands above the Wye, while Raglan is a much later medieval castle. White Castle, Skenfrith and Grosmont belong to the border’s Norman defensive history. These sites represent different parts of the area’s castle history. Tintern Abbey in the Wye valley inspired William Wordsworth and JMW Turner. Its association with their work adds a cultural strand to a landscape also known through its towns, waterways and fortifications.

Sources

  1. Wye Valley and Vale of Usk — Visit Wales. Abergavenny, Monmouth and Usk are market towns in this landscape of river valleys. (Towns, castles and abbey). Accessed 2026-09-28.

  2. ONS local authority districts December 2025

    Office for National Statistics · lad-december-2025 · Open Government Licence v3.0 · Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0 Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2025.