A drive to the Nash road and Goldcliff areas of Newport dull, cloudy and colder than of late, plenty of reens on the side of the roads, some were busy with birds and some like this one is void of wild life but still look amazing places.
In parts of England and Wales, a rhyne (Somerset), rhine/rhyne(Gloucestershire), or reen (South Wales) (all pronounced /ˈriːn/ "reen"; from Old English ryne or Welsh rhewyn or rhewin "ditch") is a drainageditch, or canal, used to turn areas of wetland close to sea level into useful pasture.
Water levels (and hence the level of the water table) will usually be controlled by a system of sluice gates and pumps, allowing the land to become wetter at times of the year when this will improve grass growth. Rhynes represent an early method of swamp or marsh drainage. Large sections of swampland were surrounded by trenches deep enough to drain the water from the encircled mound and leave the land relatively dry. Regular clearing and dredging is necessary to keep the rhynes clear of debris so that they flow freely.
Rhynes have been used extensively in the United Kingdom, especially on marshy coastal areas such as the Somerset Levels, and the North Somerset Levels. Other examples in England exist in the Framilodeand Saul area of Gloucestershire, where they drain into either the River Severn or Sharpness Canal, and the Pilning Levels alongside the Severn Estuary in South Gloucestershire between Avonmouth and Aust. In southeast Wales, they can be found on the Caldicot and Wentloog Levels. Many of them are still in use today.
