Ideal for appreciating the natural beauty of Wales’s third largest city
A city that stands at the gateway between England and Wales, and turns the best of both into a cohesive, forward thinking whole, Newport is very much a place on the up.
With Cardiff just twenty minutes to the west, Bristol half an hour east over the Severn Bridge, and with a port that handles some £1 billion of trade annually, the city is in an enviable position that has seen investors taking note. Once considered to have something of an edgy reputation, Newport is now a thrusting, thriving city with big things expected in the coming decade.
In 2014, it even hosted the NATO Summit, welcoming world leaders including Barack Obama to Wales’s third biggest city. If the president were to visit again and needed an itinerary, it’s here he would find inspiration; our 5 of the best things to do on your next holiday to Newport, Wales, IDEAL for appreciating the natural beauty of Wales’s third largest city.
CAERLEON ROMAN FORTRESS & BATHS
Whilst it feels a little perverse to be leaving Newport as soon as we’ve arrived, the Caerleon Roman Fortress and Baths waits for no one. Plus, it’s just a 10 minute drive north of the city (or a quarter of an hour bus ride on the dedicated Caerleon PO service, which leaves Newport every fifteen minutes), meaning you’ll be back in time for tea should you be planning to spend the afternoon here.
And plan you should; this historic site, which now includes a museum, has stood since AD 75, was one of just three Roman Legionary fortresses in Roman Britain, and is the furthest westerly point that the Roman Empire managed to extend into. What’s more, the site is home to the most well preserved Roman Amphitheatre in Britain. There must be something pretty special about this part of the world.
It should be noted that right now, the Roman Baths are closed for essential maintenance, but the site hopes to be reopened to visitors again soon.
NEWPORT TRANSPORTER BRIDGE
Dominating the Newport skyline since 1906 and one of just six functioning transporter bridges globally (of which only two are in the UK), the Newport Transporter Bridge is a must visit if you’re in the city named Casnewydd in Welsh.
A Grade I Listed Structure, climbing the bridge and crossing it (though permitted) isn’t for the faint hearted; on windier days, doing so is positively terrifying!
While it can certainly be appreciated in all its majesty from afar, the bridge is currently closed until Spring 2023 while it undergoes major renovations and a new visitor centre is built, following an £8.75 million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Read: 5 IDEAL activities to enjoy in rural Wales
TREDEGAR HOUSE COUNTRY PARK
Just a fifteen minute drive from Newport city centre and stretching out over 90 acres of pristine Welsh countryside, Tredegar House and its country park are steeped in tradition and history. Though you can enter the mansion house between 11 am and 3:30 pm daily to see how the other half used to live, it’s the expansive grounds that make the visit truly worth your while.
Full of towering Sequoia redwood trees and boasting a huge central lake, the park at Tredegar House is the perfect place for a stroll with the family. On the lake itself, which is circumnavigated by a footpath, you’ll even see swans, a community of ducks, grebes and moorhens!
If you’re looking for a more manageable saunter, then back close to Tredegar House itself is the adjoining gardens of the mansion, which contain an orchard and an orangery. Lovely stuff.
Incredibly, you can even camp in the grounds of Tredegar House, as the park boasts its very own caravan park and campsite. Pitches start at just £10.80, with the site open from mid March to late October.
Alternatively, if you’re searching for Newport accommodation closer to the action (and out of the cold!) then the city centre has some excellent hotels. The Celtic Manor Resort was even fit for President Obama, after all!
THE WALES COASTAL PATH
The superlatives just keep on coming…
The Wales Coastal Path covers the entire coastline of the country – all 870 miles of it, all walkable – and is the first in the world to do so. The whole length of the footpath is accessible by foot, with much of it also a viable cycle path and a good portion also suitable for people with restricted mobility.
Whilst you may not be keen on traversing the full length of the coastal path (modest predictions suggest it takes 6 weeks to complete), you’ll find an agreeable section in and around Newport, which takes in the Wetlands Reserve (more of that in a moment), the East Usk Lighthouse, the Newport Docks, Newport Castle and many more fascinating points of interest in and around the city.
Check out Newport City Council’s map for that section of the walk here.
NEWPORT WETLANDS NATURE RESERVE
Yep, we realise the Wetlands Nature Reserve features on the walk we just mentioned, but it’s deserving of its own section, make no mistake. Composed of estuary, wetland and reedbed habitats, the reserve is managed by the RSPB, owing to the fascinating selection of bird species that call this corner of Wales home.
In the Nature Reserve you’ll see the Bearded Tit (must be a joke in here somewhere), Dunlin, Little Egret, Little Grebe, and Shoveler, as well as a whole host of other flora and fauna.
The reserve is open daily, from 9am to 5pm. Just remember to bring some binoculars!