Monmouth will become the gateway to Wales next May when it welcomes the Olympic Torch on the first Welsh stop of its UK tour.

The torch will cross the border on 25th May, the seventh day of its 1,018-stop relay.

The torch's route was announced by the Olympic Committee last Monday (7th November) and has been designed in the hope it will come within one hour's drive of every address in the UK.

The relay will start on 19th May 2012 at Land's End and finish 70 days later on 27th July at the opening ceremony of the games, held in the Olympic Stadium.

When in Monmouth, the torch will cross the iconic Monnow Bridge before heading off to Raglan.

From there it will continue its journey through Monmouthshire into Abergavenny before entering bordering county Blaenau Gwent.

For full story see Beacon 9/11/11.