This walk covered 10 miles of the Wales Coast Path along the ‘Gwent and Wentlooge Levels’. Starting at Lighthouse Road at Duffryn in Newport we followed the coast path to Rumney, Cardiff.

There’s a pub near the start of this walk, The Stonehouse Inn, worth noting as 2 pubs along this route have sadly closed in recent years. As such, there’s a lack of facilities along the path on this 10 mile walk.

The path is clearly way-marked at Lighthouse Road, first into fields then along a stony track over a rail bridge, before continuing along a raised grass embankment.

The raised bank offers great views over the river and countryside, with only the occasional obstacle to meander around.

The flat landscape is broken up by a setting of mature trees, which screen the magnificent West Usk Lighthouse. Constructed in 1821, the light to guide the busy shipping lanes of the Severn Estuary first operated on the 1st December that year.

West Usk has the distinction of being the first of 29 Lighthouses designed by James Walker, one of the most prominent civil engineers of his day. These facts and more details about Mr Walker’s achievements are recorded on an information panel displayed near the coast path.

The lighthouse was turned into a quirky B&B guesthouse some years ago and was being marketed as a unique wedding venue. At one time it went up for sale with a cool asking price of £1.75 million.

Walking on towards St. Brides, there are fine views across miles of reclaimed fields and pasture land.

These are the ‘Wentlooge Levels’ criss-crossed by a network of ‘reens’, the natural drainage channels which give the area it’s distinctive landscape, very similar to the levels to the east of Newport.

Looking inland, there are views northwards of the countryside and rolling hills as far as Twmbarlwm. This prominent ridge, with it’s distinctive ‘twmp’ Iron Age hill fort, is a landmark feature of South East Wales.

The Lighthouse Inn, a long standing traditional pub at the Seawall for generations and once a good option for a mid walk refreshment break on this section, but sadly it closed in 2023.

At Peterstone we took a short detour along a muddy footpath into the village, passing alongside the impressive 12th Century St. Peter’s Church, now converted to a luxury home.

There’s an information board nearby with details of the great flood on the Levels, but little else of interest here.

Returning to the coast path we continued westwards, with some superb views across the Severn Estuary as it widens towards the Bristol Channel.

The flat, low coastal scenery combined with some dramatic ‘big sky’ cloudscapes gave a real sense of vastness and space.

Approaching Rumney, the sounds of birds on the intertidal marshlands and the gentle rhythm of waves on the incoming tide are steadily replaced by the hum of heavy machinery drifting across from Cardiff’s industrial docks area.

The path leaves the seawall and leads down to a narrow chicane of boulders and concrete blocks. This appears designed to prevent access to a modern menace, illegal off-road bikers. Crossing a small footbridge a surfaced path runs alongside reed-beds. It’s a sheltered habitat and we spotted swans, a little Egret, moorhens and mallard here.

The path emerges onto a pavement at Lamby Way. It’s a very busy industrial highway with lots of heavy goods vehicles and works traffic rattling by. It’s quite a grotty and underwhelming welcome into Cardiff.

Perhaps the powers that be will design a more walker friendly path from Rumney into Cardiff at some time in the future. We can but hope!

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