The Romans built a small fort here in the 1st century AD, which developed into a township by the 4th century.

It is thought that Cowbridge might have a claim to being the missing Roman fort of Bovium.

When the railways came to Victorian Britain, Cowbridge did not welcome the thought of the iron way - the main line took a big loop around the Vale to the north.

Had it been built through the town, a huge viaduct would have been necessary, because of the hills that rise 100 metres on either side of the town.

Cowbridge also became known for its fairs, but by the mid 1960s it had the doubtful reputation of having long traffic queues, as it was on the main route to west Wales from Cardiff and the east.

The bypass to the north of the town put paid to all that, followed later by the M4 motorway which bypassed the whole area.

I first came to Cowbridge in 1982 to find a wonderfully eclectic collection of buildings lining the main street including some of the "poshest" shops in South Wales.

Indeed, Cowbridge has been described as the "Bond Street" of South Wales and certainly has house prices to reflect that theory.

It still, however, maintains an atmosphere of a bygone era where some shops open at leisure and to suit themselves rather than their customers!

Having said that, my wife and I know many of the traders of the town and always enjoy shopping there.

In 1991 Cowbridge was twinned with Clisson, near Nantes in France, with which it maintains regular contacts.

More recently, Cowbridge now has its very own Farmers Market on the first Saturday of each month.

It's certainly popular with the local shoppers who relish a change from the huge supermarkets which effectively surround the area.