Newbridge on Usk is a cosy country inn tucked away in a beautiful village setting alongside the…
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The Penhow Woodlands NNR is situated on the slopes of the limestone hills just outside Newport, and is an example of an increasingly rare habitat in the UK. In springtime, Penhow Woodlands is one of the best places to see bluebells along with many other wildflowers such as primroses, wood anemone and lesser celandine. This is also the time to see the native Welsh daffodils which grow in the woods. They are smaller and more delicate than the garden varieties. Other interesting plants that find their home in these woods include herb Paris, the pale, ghost-like bird’s-nest orchid and green hellebore, a rare member of the buttercup family. The reserve is also one of the few places in which to see Tintern spurge, also known as upright spurge. The woodlands attract summer migrant birds such as bullfinches, pied flycatchers, redstarts, tree pipits and various warblers.
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About the area
Discover Newport
The area of Newport neighbours Monmouthshire and is home to a cathedral city of the very same name again. Situated 12 miles from Cardiff, on the mouth of the River Usk, the Normans built a castle here. But Newport really grew up in the 19th century when its port became the place from which to export coal around the world – until Cardiff took over in the 1850s. It was also the site of the last large-scale armed insurrection in Britain, the Newport Rising of 1839.
The docks may have declined in importance, but Newport survived, building on manufacturing, engineering and service industries – some government departments are located here too, such as the passport office. The city is also reinventing itself. First off, it was granted city status in 2002, beating off competition from five other Welsh rivals, including Aberystwyth and Wrexham. It also opened the Usk footbridge in 2006, which won a number of awards, and attracted some big-name discount retail outlets. A few years later, it hosted the prestigious 2010 Ryder Cup at the nearby Celtic Manor Resort.
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