Newport Parrog

The Parrog is Newport's original port: a string of old quays, lime kilns and whitewashed cottages along the south side of the Nyfer estuary, with sandbanks emerging as the tide falls. It faces its glamorous sibling Newport Sands across the water, and at spring low tides locals walk between the two across the estuary — a crossing to attempt only with local knowledge of the tides, because the flood comes in around the banks fast.

For most visitors the Parrog is for gentler pleasures: launching a paddleboard on the sheltered flood tide, crabbing off the quay, the café and boat club, and the evening light down the estuary, which is the best free show in Newport. Swimmers should respect the channel — the estuary current is genuinely strong on the ebb, and the safe bathing is over the sandbanks at slack water.