Newport Wetlands

The reserve was established in 2000 to mitigate losses of wildlife habitat when the Cardiff Bay Barrage scheme was undertaken. The site is owned and managed by Natural Resources Wales, the successor body to the Countryside Council for Wales. A purpose-built visitor and education centre in West Nash was opened in March 2008 by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) with help from Newport City Council and water level management assistance by Caldicot and Wentloog Levels Internal Drainage Board. The reserve covers 437 ha of the Caldicot Level, a low-lying area of land bordering the northern shore of the Severn Estuary. Part of the site is a reclaimed fuel ash disposal site,…

Entrance is free, with car parking facilities open every day of the year from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm. The visitor and education centre are open every day except Christmas Day. The visitor centre provides a shop, refreshments, bathroom facilities, viewing facilities and guided tours. Dogs and cyclists are permitted outside the visitor centre and along a specially marked 6 km circular route around the reserve's perimeter which is accessed via a path next to the car park exit. Initially heading west, the route runs alongside the power station then turns to the east past the East Usk Lighthouse and along the Severn Estuary (Wales Coast Path). After dropping below the sea wall, the path splits,…