This week we’re pleased to welcome visitors returning to Monmouthshire following the lifting of travel restrictions in Wales.

Self-contained visitor accommodation is available for booking from this Saturday, you’ll be able to visit many of our pubs, restaurants and cafes outdoors from July 13 and lots of businesses have already reopened.

We want to make it as easy and safe as possible for you to enjoy Monmouthshire’s stunning landscapes, ambience and natural beauty.

Many businesses and attractions have worked hard to prepare for reopening and the council has been busy adapting our streets so residents and visitors may feel confident about returning.

We’ve applied tailor-made measures to each of our major towns and villages that include stencilled signage, barriers, reduced speed limits and trialled road closures or one-way systems. Details of these changes to town centre layouts are on our website.

We recently launched our Shop Local, Shop Monmouthshire campaign to celebrate the unique nature of the county’s villages and towns and encourage support for independent businesses.

The coronavirus pandemic, as well as February’s severe floods, has hit the county’s tourism, hospitality, service and retail sectors severely, so please support our local businesses wherever possible.

It’s good to see so many neighbourhood markets like those in Abergavenny, Caldicot, Chepstow, Monmouth and Usk reopening. They offer a wide choice of food, drink, produce and crafts, often from local enterprises.

When you visit, look for the We’re Good to Go tourism and hospitality industry kite mark.

This provides reassurance that businesses follow government and industry Covid-19 guidelines to ensure processes are in place to maintain cleanliness and physical distancing.

We also ask you to bear with us, as not everything will be open from day one. Take a look at our www.visitmonmouthshire.com/ website and focus on the Plan Your Visit page to check that the things you want to see and do are available. For many places, advance booking may also be required.

We’re fully aware that that the threat of coronavirus is still very much with us so we respectfully call upon visitors to strictly observe any remaining restrictions concerning the current pandemic and behave responsibly towards our communities and environment.

Finally, Croeso i Sir Fynwy/Welcome to Monmouthshire – whether cycling, sight-seeing, hiking, shopping or whatever takes your fancy, may your time spent making the most of our attractions and activities in this beautiful corner of Wales remain a memorable and enjoyable, but especially safe experience.