| Newport Wetlands | |
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| Gwlyptiroedd Casnewydd | |
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| Type | National nature reserve |
| Nearest city | Newport, Wales |
| Coordinates | 51°32′46″N2°57′40″W / 51.546°N 2.961°W |
| Area | 437 hectares (1,080 acres) |
| Created | 2000 |
| Operated by | |
| Website | www |
Newport Wetlands is a wildlife reserve covering parts of Uskmouth, Nash and Goldcliff, in the south-east of the city of Newport, South Wales.
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 for the site was opened, in West Nash, 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. [1]
The reserve covers 437 hectares (1,080 acres) 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, although some farmland in Goldcliff and Nash has also had to be flooded to complete the work.
The reserve was made a national nature reserve on 16 April 2008. [2]
In January 2024 the reserve was the focus for the BBC programme Countryfile . [3]
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. [4] 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 six-kilometre (3.7 mi) circular route around the reserve's perimeter which is accessed via a path next to the car park exit. Initially heading west, the route follows 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, with a pedestrian and dog walking route returning to the visitor centre via a marked path to the left. A longer pedestrian and cycling route continues forwards towards Goldcliff village and the local road network.
Next to the visitor centre is a picnic and play area, which provides a children's play area, education zone, and benches for picnics.
The far end of the main trail faces south towards the Severn Estuary, along which the East Usk Lighthouse and a bird hide overlooking lagoon R9 are situated. There is also a woodland trail, which is entered by turning left at the top of the hill. The trail travels past neighbouring farmland, through the reserve's woodlands, past a lagoon viewing platform which overlooks lagoon R8, and onto the estuary trail.
The reserve includes a wide variety of habitats which include grazed pasture with hedgerows, ditches, reens, reed beds and grasslands. These help to attract breeding birds such as lapwing, redshank, oystercatcher, little ringed plover and ringed plover, as well as visitors such as wigeon, northern shoveler, teal, shelduck and pintail, hen harrier and short-eared owl. In 2020, two pairs of bittern successfully bred at the site, for the first time in south Wales for over 200 years. [5] The Goldcliff Lagoons, which form the eastern end of the reserve, is the only site in south Wales where avocet breed. [6] [7]
The reserve contains an artificial floating walkway, which provides a direct route to the lighthouse over lagoon R7. This lagoon is part of a series of a total of three lagoons spanning the coastal path (east to west). The most eastward lagoon (R9) is overlooked by a bird hide in addition to being viewable from a fenced overpass, and the most westwardly lagoon (R4) is viewable from a fenced overpass.
 East Usk lighthouse, near Perry Lane, West Nash, Newport | |
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| Location | Uskmouth Newport Wales United Kingdom |
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| Coordinates | 51°32′24″N2°58′01″W / 51.54000°N 2.96696°W |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1893 |
| Construction | cast iron tower |
| Height | 13 metres (43 ft) |
| Shape | cylindrical tower with balcony and lantern |
| Markings | white tower and lantern |
| Power source | mains electricity  |
| Operator | Newport Harbour Commissioners [8] [9] |
| Light | |
| Focal height | 11 metres (36 ft) |
| Range | 11 nmi (20 km; 13 mi) (white), 10 nmi (19 km; 12 mi) (red, green) |
| Characteristic | Fl (2) WRG 10s. |
The East Usk Lighthouse is within the reserve on the estuary trail facing towards the Severn Estuary. It is a basic lamphousing with no accommodation. The more substantial decommissioned West Usk Lighthouse, currently operating as a hotel, is on the opposite (west) bank of the River Usk and can be viewed from the reserve. It was constructed in 1893 by Trinity House and entered service on or about 22 June that year. [10]
WWT Slimbridge is a wetland wildlife reserve near Slimbridge in Gloucestershire, England. It is midway between Bristol and Gloucester on the eastern side of the estuary of the River Severn. The reserve, set up by the artist and naturalist Sir Peter Scott, opened in November 1946. Scott subsequently founded the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, which has since opened nine other reserves around the country. Slimbridge comprises some 800 hectares of pasture, reed bed, lagoon and salt marsh. Many water birds live there all year round, and others are migrants on their ways to and from their summer breeding grounds. Other birds overwinter, including large numbers of white-fronted geese and increasing numbers of Bewick's swans.
Titchwell Marsh is an English nature reserve owned and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Located on the north coast of the county of Norfolk, between the villages of Titchwell and Thornham, about 8 km (5.0 mi) east of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, its 171 hectares include reed beds, saltmarshes, a freshwater lagoon and sandy beach, with a small woodland area near the car park. This internationally important reserve is part of the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and is also protected through Natura 2000, Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar listings.
Uskmouth is an area to the south of the city of Newport, South Wales.
Two Tree Island is a small island lying north-east of Canvey Island and south-west of Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, England. It covers 257 hectares and is connected to the mainland at Leigh by a single span bridge.
The Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its very high tidal range, approximately 50 feet (15 m), creates valuable intertidal habitats and has led to the area being at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable tidal energy.
RSPB Dearne Valley Old Moor is an 89-hectare (220-acre) wetlands nature reserve in the Dearne Valley near Barnsley, South Yorkshire, run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). It lies on the junction of the A633 and A6195 roads and is bordered by the Trans Pennine Trail long-distance path. Following the end of coal mining locally, the Dearne Valley had become a derelict post-industrial area, and the removal of soil to cover an adjacent polluted site enabled the creation of the wetlands at Old Moor.
Burton Mere Wetlands is a nature reserve on the Dee Estuary straddling the border between Cheshire, England and Flintshire, Wales. It is run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and incorporates the older Inner Marsh Farm reserve. It lies near the village of Burton, about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Neston. It has all been developed by the RSPB and includes a large area of mixed wetland habitats, bluebell woodlands, and arable fields all managed to attract wildlife.
Goldcliff is a village, parish and community to the south east of the city of Newport in South Wales. It lies within the Newport city boundaries in the historic county of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent. Administratively, the community of Goldcliff includes the village/parish of Whitson. The population in 2001 was 233; by 2011 it had risen to 329.
The Caldicot and Wentloog Levels are two areas of low-lying estuarine alluvial wetland and intertidal mudflats adjoining the north bank of the Severn Estuary, either side of the River Usk estuary near Newport in south east Wales. They are also known collectively as the Monmouthshire Levels or Gwent Levels, and the name Wentloog is sometimes spelled Wentlooge in official publications.
National Cycle Route 4 is a route of the United Kingdom National Cycle Network, running from London to Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. Between these, the route runs through Reading, Bath, Bristol, Newport, Swansea and St David's. Within Wales, sections of the route follow branches of the Celtic Trail cycle route.
Nash is a village and community to the south of the city of Newport, South Wales, in the Lliswerry ward.
Rye Meads is a 58.5-hectare (145-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Rye House, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. It is one of series of wetlands and reservoirs situated along the River Lea, to the north-east of London. It is part of the Lea Valley Ramsar site and a Special Protection Area.
Gwent Wildlife Trust (GWT) is a wildlife trust covering the area between the lower Wye and Rhymney rivers which forms the vice county of Monmouthshire in south-east Wales. It is a registered charity and a member of the Wildlife Trusts Partnership.
West Usk Lighthouse is a Grade II-listed building on the Severn Estuary at the mouth of the River Usk south of the city of Newport, South Wales.
The South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary Coastal Path covers Region H of the larger Wales Coast Path, an 870-mile (1,400 km) long-distance walking route around the whole coast of Wales which opened on 5 May 2012. The South Wales Coast and Severn Estuary stretch is a 109-mile (176 km) in length running from Kenfig Dunes near Port Talbot, South Wales to Chepstow. With five local councils involved in its creation and maintenance, the route goes through a heritage coast, three national nature reserves and three heritage landscapes.
Lekki Conservation Centre (LCC) is a 78-hectare (190-acre) Natural Resource Conservation in Lekki, Lagos State Nigeria. It is part of PARCC West Africa project.
Pîl is a Welsh placename element. The name is defined as the tidal reach of a waterway, suitable as a harbour, and is common along the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary. The highly localised distribution suggests it may have been part of a common maritime culture on the waterways within the tidal reach of the Severn Sea.
The coastline of Wales extends from the English border at Chepstow westwards to Pembrokeshire then north to Anglesey and back eastwards to the English border once again near Flint. Its character is determined by multiple factors, including the local geology and geological processes active during and subsequent to the last ice age, its relative exposure to or shelter from waves, tidal variation and the history of human settlement and development which varies considerably from one place to another. The majority of the coast east of Cardiff in the south, and of Llandudno in the north, is flat whilst that to the west is more typically backed by cliffs. The cliffs are a mix of sandstones, shales and limestones, the erosion of which provides material for beach deposits. Of the twenty-two principal areas which deliver local government in Wales, sixteen have a coastline, though that of Powys consists only of a short section of tidal river some distance from the open sea. Its length has been estimated at 1,680 miles (2,700 km).
| Authority control databases: East Usk Lighthouse |
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