A new observatory has been opened in the grounds of Usk Community Education Centre.

Usk Astronomical Society were joined by Usk Mayor Martyn Evans and other dignitaries at the opening of the Alfred Russel Wallace Observatory last month.

Named after Alfred Russel Wallace, the polymath and co-discover of evolution by natural selection with Charles Darwin, the observatory was funded by Monmouthshire County Council grant.

It was ordered from Canada and arrived as a construction pack, which was then assembled on a gravel and decking platform, and is thought to be the first publicly accessible astronomical observatory in Monmouthshire.

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