The boundary of the county that lies near Gloucestershire shares some of its neighbour's popularity-and a little of its speech; Chepstow, with its castle and magnificently wooded banks of the Wye, is justly famous, but the walking country around Newport is often neglected, not only by its residents, but by passing visitors too. What endless possibilities there are of walks in contrasting scenery-the hills of the Mynydd Maen range, "the marshes", lush fields and shady woods, to mention just a few of the ever-changing scenes.
The main rivers of the county are the Wye, Usk, Ebbw and Rhymney. The Usk and its tributaries will be the main waterways in the walks described hereafter, particularly the Soar Brook and the Olway, and the turbulent Afon Llwyd.