Return to The Kymin

In May 2021 we made our first, and up to that point, only visit to The Kymin, the hill overlooking the Welsh town of Monmouth. Recently we made a second visit and I again photographed The Roundhouse, the c.1796 building that was built at the viewpoint. It had received a recent coat of paint and looked splendid in the March afternoon sunlight. Whilst my wife chatted with a cyclist who had toiled up to the summit I composed a shot that included them for scale.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon Z 5

Roundhouse at The Kymin, Monmouth

The Roundhouse at The Kymin, a hill and view point above Monmouth,was built around 1796 by the Monmouth Picnic Club, also known as the Kymin Club. This was a group of gentlemen who met weekly "for the purpose of dining together, and "spending the day in a social and friendly manner."  The building's purpose was to give members "security from the inclemency of the weather". It has a kitchen on the ground floor and a banqueting room above.

It was furnished with a telescope to take advantage of the views of Monmouth below and the Welsh mountains in the distance (click photo above to enlarge). In 1807 the Monmouth antiquarian, Charles Heath, noted that ten counties can be seen from the Roundhouse - Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, Herefordshire, Glamorganshire, Breconshire, Worcestershire, Montgomeryshire, Shropshire, Somerset and Radnorshire. Today the building and the immediate area is owned by the National Trust and is open to the public.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon D5300