Walk 2: Goldcliff to St Bride's

For my second Wales Coast Path walk, in January 2020, my partner and I walked from Goldcliff, where we’d ended our first walk, into Newport to cross the River Usk, and then down to St Bride’s Wentloog.

We drove to Newport in the morning and parked up for the day, before grabbing a taxi to the Farmer’s Arms in Goldcliff. The weather was surprisingly good for a January hike – sunny but cool, and not too muddy (helped by the fact that this walk wasn't too rural).

The first couple of miles took us around Newport Wetlands Nature Reserve on nice country paths and quiet roads. A little way into the walk, we had our first glimpse of the ‘coast’, walking alongside the Severn Estuary. The path around Newport Wetlands was pretty popular, with people clearly out taking advantage of the good weather.

We strolled along a tarmac path towards East Usk Lighthouse, which looked lovely in the low, January sun. Constructed in 1893, East Usk Lighthouse is the remaining operational lighthouse of the two that once marked the entrance to the River Usk (we passed the second one later on our walk).

We continued along the path, heading inland and around Simec Uskmouth Power Station. Although these weren’t the most wonderful coastal views, the path was robust and flat, and it was easy walking.

We walked through a few marshy-looking fields through Nash, before passing an industrial area, which led us to the bank of the River Usk. The view was dominated by Newport Transporter Bridge, which was built in 1906, and is one of fewer than ten transporter bridges that remains in use worldwide. It's an iconic feature of Newport's city centre, and was the focal point of our view for the next few miles of our walk.

The bridge is the lowest crossing of the River Usk, and was unfortunately closed on the day of our walk, meaning we had to go the long way! After we reached the bridge, we turned right, and after a little bit of road walking, we reached New City Bridge, where we could finally cross the river ourselves.

Having successfully crossed the river, it was time to head back south and away from Newport. The next section felt a little tedious – we were already tiring, as this was only our second long walk, and getting out of Newport involved a lot of road walking and navigating through housing estates.

We walked inland for a while, passing Newport Docks, before eventually reaching a country path. The final section of our walk took us along a path with a raised bank to our left, which obscured the view of the estuary, and a stream to our right. After our previous experience, we didn't want to do any trudging along muddy grass, so rather than climbing to the top of the bank, we stuck to the path.

We passed West Usk Lighthouse, which nowadays serves as a wedding venue, and a little further along the path, spotted the Lighthouse Inn (which has now closed), which felt like an ideal place to finish our walk. We crossed the stream via a small bridge, called a taxi, and went inside to warm up and grab a drink after a pleasant day of walking.

​🥾 Distance: About 15 miles of very flat walking.

⭐ Highlight: Passing Newport Transporter Bridge.

👎 Less Good: Lots of road walking in Newport city centre.

🚗 Transport: We parked in Newport and had a taxi take us to Goldcliff in the morning, and another taxi pick us up from St Bride’s.

🛏️ Accommodation: We just popped to Newport for the day, so no need for accommodation.

🌱 Food: After being dropped off in Newport, we enjoyed a delicious pizza at Ragtag Pizza before we headed home – sadly, they have now closed.

🗺️ Map: This route is featured in the official South Wales Coast guide.

Still not convinced? Read my ten reasons to walk the Wales Coast Path. If you’re ready to start planning your walk, you can find lots of resources to help you on your way here. Please note, I collect a share of the sales from the links on this page.