RSPB Newport Wetlands Reviews Summary

Visitor Centre and Cafe

Pros:

• "The coffee shop and visitor centre is a brilliant place to stop for a drink and bite to eat."
• "Even my teenage kids enjoyed themselves using the binoculars we hired from the front desk!"
• "The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable."
• "Staff engagement was beyond expectations and helped make our day perfect."
• "Very friendly staff and a decent cafe with clean toilets."
• "The visitors centre has toilets and a shop and cafe, the freshly made sandwiches were great."
• "The visitor centre is vey nice, with a coffee shop, if a little over-priced."

Cons:

• "Food in cafe was good but a long wait and charmingly amateurish messing up of the order."
• "The only downside to the center was the cafe seemed a little on the small side during peak visitor times."
• "No dogs allowed in cafe! So they lost 6 customers."
• "Lovely place just a shame one woman at the café today spoke to my sister and I like we were school children."
• "DISAPPOINTED- with the cafe experience, rude staff."
• "The cafe is small and does snacks and small lunch dishes. The food is simple but tastes delicious."
• "Was enjoying the walk until I got to the viewing point and got attached by swarm of honey bees. No signs up warning us of the swarm nesting in viewing point."

Parking and Accessibility

Pros:

• "Parking for 3£, you must buy token close to the entrance in machine."
• "Car park charge isn't expensive."
• "There’s plenty of parking and plenty of space."
• "Only £3 to park and no other entrance fee."
• "As a member you don’t pay for parking, which is great."
• "RSPB members can park for free but still need to collect a token from the visitors centre before they leave."
• "The car park on site has a fee of £3 but is completely free for RSPB members."

Cons:

• "Parking used to be free until a few years ago."
• "I visited yesterday with a friend, and we were shocked to find ourselves trapped in the car park unless we paid the £3 fee they have recently introduced."
• "Feeling quite disappointed as we came away. They have now implemented a £3.00 parking charge!"
• "It's okay but think £3 for parking is too much since we were only here an hour."
• "They lock your car up in the carpark early and with no warning."
• "Charged £4 to be banished and restricted to the outskirt walk around the wetlands because you have a dog on a lead."
• "It's £4 to park in the RSPB car park."

Nature and Wildlife

Pros:

• "The buzzing overhead power cables leading from nearby Nash powerstation add a little novelty/concern but the range of birds and chance to get a blast of fresh sea air is the real draw of the Wetlands Reserve."
• "You could actually see birds flying in the fields of reeds and swimming in the water ways."
• "A beautiful way to connect to nature."
• "The reserve has recently had kingfishers and otters spotted which is brilliant."
• "So peaceful and lots of wildlife."
• "A fabulous area to visit and take in nature. Lots of various species of birds and sights to see."
• "Wildlife is incredible, scenery is fantastic and it's wonderful to breath in the nice fresh air."

Cons:

• "Beautiful scenery however the dog route is basically an overgrown muddy tractor path that is poorly signed posted."
• "Although a lovely walk this center is certainly NOT dog friendly."
• "There are some birds, but hard to spot without patience and binoculars."
• "I saw hardly any birds in 1 1/2 hours there (1 bird only I think)."
• "Not that many birds or otters in view."
• "There weren't many migratory birds about due to the time of year."
• "Essentially all in all, I could see nothing but reeds where there was once open water."

Facilities and Maintenance

Pros:

• "Well kept grounds with walks of varying lengths."
• "The walks are manageable by everybody, young to old with disability friendly access throughout."
• "Friendly staff, well made paths."
• "Great visitor centre, cafe shop and loos."
• "The area is kept wonderfully clean."
• "The trails are pushchair friendly which was a huge plus."
• "Nicely kept, loads of notice boards for the kids to look at to tell them (and me!) What to look for or to help identify things we'd spotted."

Cons:

• "Some of the paths have large uneven coverings where my wife fell over and injured her arm."
• "I was very disappointed that there was no dog waste bins anywhere around along the trail."
• "Signposting not very clear within area."
• "No litter or poo bins so have to carry it back to the car."
• "Just wish there were some bins on the dog route to put the dog poo in and that there was more seating for dog walkers outside the cafe."
• "Poor parking management. You can get in but you can't always get out."
• "The teaching ponds are also so full of reeds you can't even see the pond life any more."