THE cold and wet conditions did not stop the Chepstow Knitters on Thursday, December 18 as members spread Christmas cheer throughout the town.

The group walked around the High Street and nearby areas hanging 186 small knitted items onto businesses and local buildings, in a bid to make Chepstow townsfolk smile during the holiday season.

Margaret Payne, Dilys Gale, Jane Nyland, Vivian Lee, Melanie Emmott-Hughes and Ros Pyke braved the cold throughout a festively-lit town, meeting familiar faces on the way who gave words of support. The group, along with Jan Whittaker, who was unable to make it that evening but did a lot of the work, planned the evening since January.

The group said: “It’s lovely doing something like this. It’s nice and Christmassy, and it’s great teamwork!

“Normally people are quite pleased when we do this, and it shows that people want others to do something nice for the town.

“We’re hoping to cheer everybody up and give a bit of Christmas cheer. Towards the end of covid and we did all the pillars, people around town said it’s great to see Chepstow cheer up! More of that is needed in Chepstow.”

Whilst going round with the group, it was clear their work is valued by the community. Smiles were everywhere to be seen while members hung the knitted items on doorhandles, and especially when giving the famous Boatman a large knitted hat.

The small knits take members around an hour or so to make, while the large “Boatman hat” was created by Jan, which the group said may not have taken long due to her talent.

You can find out more about the Chepstow Knitters, by spotting one of their knits in town and reading the labels for contact details - they are always happy to accept new members!

Check out the gallery below for more pics.