South and East Region

CCW’s South and East Region covers the counties of Powys, Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen, Newport, Caerphilly, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Merthyr Tydfil, Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan and Bridgend.

CCW's South and East Region

The Regional Director is Dr Maggie Hill and there are three Regional Offices – at St Mellons in Cardiff, Abergavenny and Newtown.

Protecting diverse landscapes

This is a region of extreme variety. Whilst much of Welsh industry is concentrated here, the landscape and wildlife of the region is as rich and varied as any other part of Wales.

Powys forms the backbone of the Region and from the summits of the Brecon Beacons you can see the entire Region and beyond. Still in Powys, Radnorshire has the largest number of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Wales, whilst Brecknock has the highest proportion of land designated as SSSI. Montgomeryshre has important parklands with ancient trees over 200 years old, most notably at Powis Castle and on the Gregynog Estate.

Three main rivers flow through the Region – the Severn, the Wye and the Usk, all of which are designated as at least an SSSI. Thanks to improvements in their water quality, they are not only salmon fishing mecca, but home to other important types of fish such as the twaite shad and river lamprey.

The three rivers reach the sea at the Severn Estuary. The estuary has one of the highest tidal ranges in the world – about 15 metres. This means that it has one of the largest intertidal habitats in the UK: a rich tapestry of mudflats, sandflats, rocky platforms and islands.

A newly created National Nature Reserve can be found on the shores of the Estuary – Newport Wetlands. It was established in 2000 and became an NNR in 2008. Its habitats have quickly developed as a haven for wildlife and a variety of birds are attracted to it – breeding lapwing, redshank, oystercatcher and little ringed plover as well as visitors such as wigeon, shoveler, teal, bittern and hen harrier.

The old coalfields of South Wales have long gone, but in their place are wildlife havens. As the areas have remained largely untouched since the heyday of their industrial activity, several species of heather have had the time to clothe the slopes, providing a home for other wildlife.

One of the finest lowland landscapes in Britain is the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty – the only AONB to straddle England and Wales. One of its features is the Wye Valley Woodlands, whose high quality native woodlands especially ash, beech and yew woods, have been identified as some of the best examples of ravine woodlands in Europe.

But not all of the Regions impressive landscapes are easily seen. If you travel underground to the many caves in the Brecon Beacons National Park you could venture to another world. At Dan yr Ogof, for instance, you can see an impressive show of stalactites and underground lakes.

On the coast

The Regions coastline stretches around 80 miles and is characterised by the coastal cliffs of the Vale of Glamorgan and the impressive sand dunes of Kenfig and Merthyr Mawr.

In the Bristol Channel lies Flatholm Island, the most southerly point of Wales. The island is now designated as an SSSI because of its maritime grasslands and rare plants such as rock sea-lavender and wild leek.

Enjoying the Region

There are ample opportunities to go out and enjoy the variety that South and East Wales has to offer. Parks, greenspaces, woods and local paths are never far away, whether you live in a city centre or a rural village. As well as the popular attractions of the Brecon Beacons or the fantastic beaches on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, Mid and South Wales still has plenty of other remote areas where you can get away from it all.