Wentwood, near Newport

Welcome

Wentwood was once a hunting preserve for Chepstow Castle and it is the largest area of ancient woodland in Wales.

Most of the original native trees here were felled during the middle of the 20th century to make way for fast-growing, timber-producing conifers.

We are restoring Wentwood to native broadleaved woodland and our ancient woodland restoration project has been accredited under the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy initiative.

The forest is scattered with archaeological features from ancient trackways to the remains of an old mill.

Visiting Wentwood

You can explore Wentwood on foot, bicycle or horseback.

There is a welcome panel in the car park with a map and information about what to see.

There are also marker posts to help guide you along the paths through the forest.

In spring the paths are surrounded by carpets of bluebells.

Look out for wood ant nests - these mounds stand up to 4 feet high.

Enjoy the harmony of bird song and you may spot deer or even an adder.

Woodland Trust

The Woodland Trust own and manage a large part of Wentwood.

For more information about what you can see in Wentwood go to the Woodland Trust website.

Visiting safely

We want you to return home safely after your visit here.

You are responsible for your own safety as well as the safety of any children and animals with you during your visit.

For advice and tips to help you plan your visit here go to Visiting our places safely.

Changes to visitor facilities

See the top of this webpage for details of any planned closures or other changes to visitor facilities here.

For your safety, always follow instructions from staff and signs including those for trail diversions or closures.

We may divert or close trails whilst we undertake maintenance work or other operations and we may need to close other visitor facilities temporarily.

In extreme weather, we may close facilities at short notice due to the risk of injury to visitors and staff.

Organising an event on our land

You may need permission from us to organise an event or to carry out some activities on our land.

Check if you are allowed to use our land.

How to get here

We recommend you follow these directions or use the Google map below which has a pin on this place’s location.

Wentwood is 7 miles west of Chepstow.

From Newport, take the A48 towards Caerwent.

After 6½ miles, turn left onto the Usk Road, signposted Llanviar Discoed (Llanfair Disgoed/Llanvair Discoed).

After around 3 miles, pass the Wentwood reservoir and Foresters’ Oaks car park is on the left.

Continue for a further ¾ mile, and Cadira Beeches car park is on the right.

The Ordnance Survey (OS) grid reference for the Cadira Beeches car park is ST 422 948 (Explorer Map OL 14 or 152).

The postcode is NP15 1LX. Please note that this postcode covers a wide area and will not take you directly to the entrance.

View this place on the What3Words website.

Public transport

The nearest mainline railway station is in Caldicot.

For details of public transport go to the Traveline Cymru website.

Parking

There are two main car parks for visiting Wentwood:

• Foresters’ Oaks car park is on the left (this car park is managed by Newport City Council)
• Cadira Beeches car park (managed by Natural Resources Wales)

Car parking is free of charge in the Cadira Beeches car park.

Overnight parking is not permitted.

Contact details

There are no staff at this location.

Contact our customer team for general enquiries during office hours, Monday to Friday.