‘They always say the best way to see the Gwent Levels is with a microscope or a helicopter. You’ve either got to get right in and go, look, this is amazing down here, or you’ve got to get up high and see this vast, extraordinary landscape from above.’ (Hoffman 2019)
Driving into Wales along the M4 over the Severn Estuary, many people fail to notice the iconic and historic reclaimed landscape emerging on their left. The Gwent Levels stretch from Chepstow, on the Welsh Borders, across to Newport, where they are interrupted by the River Usk, and then on to Cardiff.