Chris Harris

May 10, 2021

Newport Wetlands NNR

Chris Harris

May 10, 2021

Sitting on the edge of the Gwent Levels, between the wide expanse of the Severn Estuary and the mouth of the River Usk, lies the Newport Wetlands National Nature Reserve.

Chris Harris

March 12, 2021

Wildlife

The Booming Bittern

Chris Harris

March 12, 2021

Wildlife

After an absence of more than 200 years, visitors to the Levels can once again hear the booming call of the bittern.

Chris Harris

March 12, 2021

Landscape

Reens, ditches and grips

Chris Harris

March 12, 2021

Landscape

The control of water on the Levels relies on a complex drainage system that extends for over 1500km, parts of which are around 2000 years old.

Chris Harris

March 12, 2021

Landscape, Places to visit

Peterstone Gout

Chris Harris

March 12, 2021

Landscape, Places to visit

Half a mile east of the former church of St Peter in Peterstone Wentlooge, Peterstone Gout, or Great Gout, is an important and interesting landmark on the Wentlooge Level.

Chris Harris

March 10, 2021

History

Crossing the Severn

Chris Harris

March 10, 2021

History

People have been crossing the Severn Estuary for thousands of years. Until recently, it was a perilous thing to do.

Chris Harris

October 6, 2020

Landscape

Beyond the sea wall

Chris Harris

October 6, 2020

Landscape

Beyond the sea wall is a watery wilderness of salt marshes, mud flats, sandbanks and the vast silt-laden waters of the Severn Estuary.

Chris Harris

September 22, 2020

Landscape, Places to visit

St Thomas The Apostle's, Redwick

Chris Harris

September 22, 2020

Landscape, Places to visit

Over its long history, the parish church of Redwick has been dedicated to several different saints; before 1875 it was St. Mary the Virgin and before that St. Michael the Archangel.

Chris Harris

September 22, 2020

Landscape, Places to visit

St Mary's, Nash

Chris Harris

September 22, 2020

Landscape, Places to visit

The history of St Mary’s church, Nash, known locally as “the Cathedral of the Moors”, is closely linked to the nearby medieval Benedictine Priory at Goldcliff.

Chris Harris

September 22, 2020

Landscape

St Mary's, Goldcliff

Chris Harris

September 22, 2020

Landscape

The tiny parish church of St Mary Magdalene’s was built in the early 15th century after the church at Goldcliff Priory, which also served the parish, was badly damaged by a storm in 1424.

Chris Harris

April 28, 2020

History, Archaeology

The Barland’s Farm Boat

Chris Harris

April 28, 2020

History, Archaeology

In 1993, archaeologists working on the development of a supermarket storage depot on the site of Barland’s Farm, near Magor, made an extraordinary discovery.

Chris Harris

April 27, 2020

History, Archaeology

The Magor Pill Boat

Chris Harris

April 27, 2020

History, Archaeology

Over the last few decades the Gwent Levels has yielded some incredible archaeological finds.

Chris Harris

April 24, 2020

History

Mapping the Levels

Chris Harris

April 24, 2020

History

In 1830, the Commissioners of Sewers ordered a survey of the Gwent Levels, recording field boundaries, drainage ditches and sea defences.

Chris Harris

February 11, 2020

History

Anne Williams – Brinker

Chris Harris

February 11, 2020

History

A brinker is old Levels lingo for a person who owns land on one side of a reen, wall or pill and is responsible for its maintenance.

Chris Harris

November 1, 2019

Landscape, Places to visit

Black Rock

Chris Harris

November 1, 2019

Landscape, Places to visit

The picnic site at Black Rock offers spectacular panoramic views of the Severn Estuary and both bridges.

Chris Harris

November 1, 2019

History

Caldicot Castle

Chris Harris

November 1, 2019

History

The magnificent Caldicot Castle has stood guard over the Levels for over 800 years.

Chris Harris

August 22, 2019

History

Pengam Moors: From Pasture to Planes

Chris Harris

August 22, 2019

History

In the late 1920s the possibilities of air travel were beginning to develop, and Cardiff did not wish to be left out of the race.

Chris Harris

August 12, 2019

Landscape

Putcher fishing

Chris Harris

August 12, 2019

Landscape

Putcher fishing is a traditional method for catching salmon, and other fish, that dates back to at least medieval times, and may be much older.

Chris Harris

May 10, 2019

Wildlife

Hairy dragonfly

Chris Harris

May 10, 2019

Wildlife

Take a walk on the Levels in late April or early May and you may be lucky enough to encounter one of our most beautiful insects, the Hairy Dragonfly.

Chris Harris

May 3, 2019

Landscape, Places to visit

Goldcliff Lagoons

Chris Harris

May 3, 2019

Landscape, Places to visit

The Goldcliff Lagoons were created in the late 1990s and form the eastern end of the Newport Wetlands National Nature Reserve.

Chris Harris

April 24, 2019

Wildlife

Rescuing Ratty

Chris Harris

April 24, 2019

Wildlife

The water vole, Arvicola amphibius, is Britain’s largest species of vole and one of our fastest declining mammals. In 2012, this iconic wetland animal was reintroduced on the Gwent Levels.

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