A466 road about long and runs through the counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire in England, and Monmouthshire in Wales. It runs south from Kingsthorne, on the A49 south east of Hereford to Monmouth, crossing the A40. After crossing the River Wye at the Wye Bridge, Monmouth and Bigsweir Bridge near Llandogo, it follows a picturesque route south down the Wye valley through Tintern and Chepstow to the M48 motorway at junction 2. The road crosses the border between England and Wales at three places along its length: at Buckholt, Redbrook, and Bigsweir. It runs through an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and
England–Wales border England and Wales therefore passes along Monmouthshire's eastern boundaries with Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, essentially along the River Monnow and River Wye. The first legislation applying solely to Wales since the 16th century was passed in 1881. Subsequently, the border between England and Wales has taken on increasing legal and political significance. In 1964 a separate department of state was established for Wales – the Welsh Office – which assumed an increasing range of administrative responsibilities from Whitehall. By 1992, the Welsh Office oversaw housing, local government, roads, historic buildings, health, education, economic development, agriculture, fisheries and urban regeneration, although the