In the Middle Ages, the port of Cardiff stretched all the way from Chepstow to Gower. Peter Finch, archetypal Cardiffian, sets out to explore his heritage, walking the Welsh side of the Severn Estuary – reclaiming personal memories and discovering the lives of others. He then crosses over to England, taking in cultural differences with every step and looking at his homeland from abroad.

Rich in anecdote, evocative in description, the book takes in villages and cities, power stations and fishermen, castles and caravans, leg-aching walks and deckchairs on the beach. The tragedy of Lynmouth, the competing delights of Porthcawl, Barry and Weston-super-Mare, the industrial sites of Usk and Port Talbot, the fate of Cardiff, Newport and Swansea docks, the ancient trackways of Swansea Bay and the Star Inn at Neath are just some of the many stories which punctuate Finch's epic walk along some of the most beautiful coastline in Britain.

Peter Finch lives in Cardiff. He won the Ted Slade Award for Service to Poetry in 2011; his most recent collection is Zen Cymru (Seren, 2010). He is Series Editor of Seren's Real series of travel guides, and author of Real Cardiff (2004), Real Cardiff Two (2004), Real Cardiff Three (2009) and Real Wales (2008).