5 things to do in Gwent this weekend

See the civil war brought to life in Monmouth

A BATTLE and living history weekend will take place in Monmouth as part of Monmouth School’s 400th anniversary celebrations.

The Sealed Knot, founded by Brigadier Peter Young, an old boy of the school, will hold a weekend of civil war re-enactment in the town on September 27 and 28.

Musketeers and pikemen will be struggling on the battlefield, while their commanders dine in splendour in the Shire Hall and villains are tried in courts martial.

On Saturday, soldiers of the Parliament Army will garrison the Monnow Bridge and defend the town from the besieging Royalists. Meanwhile, in the Shire Hall, servants will be preparing and serving a sumptuous feast for the senior officers.

On Sunday, the school’s sports ground will host a demonstration of of life in the 17th century.The events are free, which start at 10am on Saturday and Sunday. Sunday’s battle starts at 3pm.

Get caught up in the Chepstow stampede

The Chepstow Stampede will be taking place on Saturday. There will be 5km and 10km races run by people raising money for Kidney Research UK. The 10km race will start at 9am and the rolling 5km race will start at 9.30am. They will be run in Piercefield Park.

9am, Saturday, September 27
Chepstow Racecourse, Chepstow NP16 6BE

Join First World War commemoration

An open day at St Cadoc’s Church, Trevethin on Saturday will commemorate the First World War with local medals on view and guided tours. Local school children's memorial designs for the Christmas truce when the soldiers played football will be judged.

11.30am, Saturday, September 27
St Cadoc’s Church, The Vicarage, Leigh Rd, Trevethin, Pontypool NP4 8JF

See County take on the the 'Crazy Gang' and the 'Beast'

Newport County will take on the 'Crazy Gang' when they play Wimbledon AFC this weekend. The Exiles will face 16 stone, ‘The Beast’ Adebayo Akinfenwa, one half of their on-form strike partnership. EA Sports named him as the strongest player in world football for the second year running, according to their player ratings for the popular ‘FIFA’ console game series.

Get down to Rodney Parade for a 3pm kick-off to see how County deal with the 'Beast'.

3pm, Saturday, September 27
Rodney Parade, Newport

See if the Dragons can do the Italian Job

NEWPORT Gwent Dragons are boosted by the return of three experienced backs for their crunch Guinness Pro12 game with Treviso on Sunday. Full-back Lee Byrne, fly-half Jason Tovey and centre Ashley Smith all are back for the clash.

4pm, Sunday, September 28
Rodney Parade, Newport