Lighthouse Park to Newport Wetlands: 8.4 miles (13.5km) +57m -56m (29 September 2013)

Two weeks after our last Pembrokeshire weekend we were back on the Coast Path in South Wales continuing on from Newport Wetlands. It didn’t seem very safe to leave our cars at Lighthouse Park so I decided to walk this time from west to east, parking at the Wetlands and getting a bus to take us to Lighthouse Park.

The path was very easy along the sea wall past Usk West Lighthouse and then heading away from the coast towards Dyffryn and into the industrial estate. We had a short toilet break at one of the shops and then continued to the Transporter Bridge.

There are two points to consider here, Firstly, the Coast Path does not cross the Transporter Bridge but continues further up the River Usk to cross at the A48 bridge and then back down the river to the other side of the Transporter Bridge. This is probably because the Transporter Bridge isn’t open all year.

Secondly, it’s much more fun to cross using the Transporter Bridge, especially the day we crossed because it was the last day of opening that year and, if anyone wanted, they could, instead of using the gondola, walk up and over the bridge.

We split roughly in half, Dorothy took the wimps the easy way and I took the brave up the 277 steps and across the high level walkway and back down the other side. As it was a clear day, the views from the top were stunning and it all felt very safe. When we got down the other side, we went into the cabin where the gondola is controlled.

More details of the Transporter Bridge can be found at the Newport Museums and Heritage Service website.

I thought I had taken some pictures but can’t find them but below are some from the wiki entry.

All pictures by Andy Dingley – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11360549

We then had lunch and continued around the docks back to the Wetlands.

Distance Walked: 8.4 miles

Distance around Wales: 327.2 miles