All walks › Newport and the Gwent Levels
Newport and the Gwent LevelsMagor Marsh
The last piece of natural fenland left on the Gwent Levels, with boardwalks, hides and a landscape unchanged since the Romans drained everything around it.
- Distance
- 2.5 mi / 4 km
- Time
- 1 hr 25
- Ascent
- 10 m
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
Boardwalks and paths loop through the reserve to the hides and the reen edges. Flat and short.
Worth knowing
- The only surviving fragment of the fen habitat that once covered the whole levels.
- Otters use the reens and are occasionally seen from the hides at dawn.
- Water voles are present, one of their strongholds in south Wales.
What you’ll see
Fen meadow, reedbed, hides over open water, and dragonflies in numbers in summer.
Background
The reserve was the first bought by Gwent Wildlife Trust in 1963 and preserves the pre-drainage landscape of the levels.