Towns of the Welsh Marches

Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west; it is sited 7 miles (12 km) from Cheltenham, from Monmouth, from Bristol, and east of the border with Wales. Gloucester has a population of around 132,000, including suburban areas. It is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to the Severn Estuary.

Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. It had a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West and Chester. It is the historic county town of Cheshire and the second-largest settlement in Cheshire after Warrington.

Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With a population of 61,900 in 2024, it is the largest settlement in Herefordshire.

Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 76,782. It is the county town of the ceremonial county of Shropshire.

Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8,877 in 2001. Monmouth was the county town of historic Monmouthshire, although Abergavenny is the largest settlement and Monmouthshire County Council has its main offices at Rhadyr, just outside Usk. Monmouth is in the UK Parliament constituency of Monmouthshire and the Senedd constituency of Monmouth.

Wrexham ( ; ) is a city in the north-east of Wales. It lies between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the county of Denbighshire, it became part of the new county of Clwyd in 1974. It has been the principal settlement and administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough since 1996. At the 2021 census, the built up area had a population of 44,785, the seventh largest in Wales and the largest in North Wales. While the wider county borough, which also includes surrounding villages and rural areas, had a population of 135,117. It

Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5, A483 and A495 roads.

town and community in Flintshire, Wales, UK

Welshpool ( ) is a market town and community in Powys, Wales, historically in the county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The community, which also includes Cloddiau and Pool Quay, has a population of 6,664 (as of the 2011 United Kingdom census), with the town having 5,948. There are many examples of Georgian architecture within the town. Powis Castle is located to the north.

Abergavenny (; , , archaically , ) is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a "Gateway to Wales"; it is approximately from the border with England (Herefordshire) and is located where the A40 trunk road and the recently upgraded A465 Heads of the Valleys road meet.

Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in south Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the confluence of the rivers Corve and Teme.

Chepstow () is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire, England. It is located on the tidal River Wye, about above its confluence with the River Severn, and adjoining the western end of the Severn Bridge. It is the easternmost settlement in Wales, situated east of Newport, east-northeast of Cardiff, northwest of Bristol and west of London.

Hay-on-Wye, or simply Hay (; or simply ), is a market town and community in Powys, Wales. With over twenty bookshops, it is often described as a "town of books"; it is both the National Book Town of Wales and the site of the annual Hay Festival. The community had a population of 1,675 at the 2021 census.

Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England; it is located at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of almost 12,000, Leominster is the largest of the five towns in the county; the others being Ross-on-Wye, Ledbury, Bromyard and Kington.

Ross-on-Wye is a market town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England, near the border with Wales. It had a population estimated at 10,978 in 2021. It lies in the south-east of the county, on the River Wye and on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean.

Cinderford is a town and civil parish on the eastern fringe of the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, England. The population was 8,777 at the 2021 Census.

town and civil parish in Shropshire, England

town in Powys, Wales, UK

Wem is a market town in the civil parish of Wem Urban, in Shropshire, England, north of Shrewsbury and south of Whitchurch.

town in Shropshire, United Kingdom

Chirk () is a town and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468. Historically in the traditional county of Denbighshire, and later Clwyd, it has been part of Wrexham County Borough since a local government reorganisation in 1996. The border with the English county of Shropshire is immediately south of the town, on the other side of the River Ceiriog.

town in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England, UK

town in Powys, Wales and Shropshire, England

border region between Wales and England

town and civil parish in Shropshire, United Kingdom

county town of Montgomeryshire, now in Powys, Wales, UK

town and civil parish in Shropshire, England

town in Shropshire, England

town and civil parish in Herefordshire, England

thumb|Annual sheep auction; P B Abery (1877?–1948); 1920s thumb|Clun post office, 1910s Clun is a town in south west Shropshire, England, and the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The 2011 census recorded 680 people living in the town. Research by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England suggests that Clun is one of the "most tranquil" locations in England.

Presteigne (; : the church of St. Andrew) is a town and community on the south bank of the River Lugg in Powys, Wales. The town is located on the England–Wales border, which surrounds it to the north, east and south. Nearby towns are Kington, Herefordshire to the south and Knighton to the north, and surrounding villages include Norton (within the community) and Stapleton. The community has a population of 2,710; the built-up area had a population of 2,056.

Lydney is a town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is on the west bank of the River Severn in the Forest of Dean District, and is 16 miles (25 km) southwest of Gloucester. The town has been bypassed by the A48 road since 1995. The population was 8,960 at the 2001 census, decreasing to 8,766 at the 2011 census, and increasing to 10,043 at the 2021 census.

Saltney is a town straddling the counties of Flintshire and Cheshire on the England–Wales border. The local government community of Saltney lies entirely in Wales, while the English areas are unparished. The town forms part of Chester's built-up area and is around 5 miles from Deeside.

town and community in Flintshire, Wales, UK