Life on the Levels

A portrait of the past, present and future of the Gwent Levels.

The Gwent Levels is an area of land that stretches from the Severn Bridge almost all the way to Cardiff.

It's flat, low-lying, alluvial – estuary-land.

Long ago, the Romans reclaimed the area from the water and built defences to separate the land and the sea.

When they left those was abandoned and the area was again inundated.

Until it was reclaimed – again – by medieval monks who made the land habitable and workable through a network of drainage ditches.

The whole area is threaded with them.

This pattern of inundation and reclamation seems like something we should keep in mind.

And, in an age of climate change and rising sea levels, the Great Flood that took place in this area in 1607 – with much loss of life – seems like both a story from the long-ago past and a possible glimpse into the future.

Today the Gwent Levels has been designated as a Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest.

This programme attempts a lyrical and partial portrait of the Levels.

Featuring: Martin Bell, Alison Neighbour and Sue Waters.

With grateful thanks to Christopher Harris, Elinor Meloy and Marsha O’Mahony

Producer: Martin Williams