Redwick, Newport

Explorer Tom Magor Marsh keeps a piece of the Gwent Levels wet and wonderfully untidy, with reedbeds, pools and a bird hide tucked among old drainage channels. I came expecting a polite puddle; the marsh replied with thirty-six hectares and a kingfisher that refused to take direction. Gwent Wildlife Trust calls this one of the last pieces of natural fenland on the Levels. Local naturalists fought a threat to it in the 1960s, and their campaign helped create the trust. Springs feed the reserve, while sluices control water in the reens and ditches. Some of those channels may have roots in a much older managed landscape. Today the mix of reed, wet woodland, meadow and pond gives wildlife different homes through the seasons. In spring, listen for Cetti's warblers and cuckoos; summer brings flowers and insects, autumn may bring a flash of kingfisher, and winter flocks gather at the pond. Water voles were reintroduced here in 2011. I would appoint one as chief engineer of the sluices, but they have apparently declined all administrative duties. Watch from the paths and hide instead, letting the marsh reveal itself without demanding every species on a single visit. The public reserve is open and has a small car park by the Derek Upton Centre on Whitewall. The trust says the education centre itself is generally for booked groups, while the reserve has paths and boardwalks, including access to the bird hide. Dogs are not allowed apart from assistance dogs, and some areas have uneven ground or grazing livestock. Check the trust's current visitor details, then give the place the quiet attention it has earned.