Margam Country Park — Attraction in Great Britain

After reading some of comments here, I wanted to add my thoughts...

We visited South Wales for a glorious holiday recently, and added Margam Country Park to our itinerary after learning it had been used as a location for a recent episode of Doctor Who. What can I say, my daughter and I are suckers for anything Time-lord related :)

I wasn't expecting too much, and did wince at the £7.70 parking fee. As it turns out, it was the best value day out we enjoyed all week.

We made a beeline for the Orangery (wedding venue and aforementioned Who location), and soaked up the atmosphere. From there it was a short walk to Fairytale Land for a whimsical few moments popping in and out of the nursery rhyme themed houses. Alright, we're not the target audience any more, but we still appreciated the effort made on these houses, and the castle (complete with secret passages!), the play area, and the giant chess and draughts boards (my daughter thrashed me, but the surroundings were so lovely, I didn't care).

From there we wandered around the gardens (small, but beautifully maintained) and explored the ruins of the abbey. We were treated to some glorious, though uncharacteristic, Welsh sunshine, but the gardens and ruins would have been worth a look even on an overcast day.

One scenic walk up to the castle later, we were enjoying the artisan fair inside. I'd recommend planning your visit on a day when the fair is organised, just check their website. Some of the crafts on display were exceptional, and I'm sure the craft cider I sampled didn't influence my judgement in the slightest :)

The courtyard next door had a few tempting places to grab a snack or ice cream, with a gift shop and cycle hire place for good measure.

We then visited the animal enclosures and fed the goats, alpacas, donkeys, etc. You're never too old to say hello to an alpaca...

There was a Go Ape Centre nearby that looked amazing, and having done that before at Leeds Castle, I'm sure that would have been a blast too.

As a grand finale, we scaled a hillside following a well-marked trail to reach a pinnacle that affords you views of four counties. Breath-taking, both literally and figuratively!

So much to do, we spent the whole day there. So in summary, three people got to enjoy the open air, a playground, some ruins, a castle, a jaunt around some animals, amazing scenery and acres of space, all for the price of the car park. No extra fees, no surprise entry charges, everything included in the price. We loved it!

So many reviews here claim the park has gone downhill and is suffering from excessive dog mess. I can't speak for how it may have been previously, but I personally didn't see evidence of either while I was there. My experience was that of a glorious family day out that didn't break the bank and created some very happy memories....

Well I would advise anyone considering coming here to do your research first.... Take £8.50 from me for the carpark? 'sure' they said.... Try to go in the castle after taking my money and letting me go in the park?.... 'oh didn't you know...that's closed for a wedding function until July'! Fancy a ride on the monorail?....'oh didn't you know..it's only open on weekends and the school holidays'! Try and hire a boat on the lake for a spot of canoeing?....oh didn't you know..that's closed because the boats are hired out for school group activities today! Considering going go ape?....oh didn't you know...that's closed too!! Oh but YOU CAN walk around the farm trail and try to find the deer! A farm trail you say?....wow, two black sheep and a family of goats, that was SO worth the £8.50 I paid... Grab some ice cream from the cafe....sure, that will be £3.80 for a magnum! Nothing like daylight robbery... Of course when we told the gatekeeper who had charged us on the way out about our LOVELY experience at the park, you know what he said? "We have nothing to do with go ape or the boat hire company" Why didn't you tell us the castle was closed? "You're the first this week to say anything, didn't you check the website"?...

NO YOU JACKASS! No apologies or offer of some sort of partial refund for my ticket, all too happy to take my money and run away with it!

How many more people they have scammed out of money under false pretenses I have no idea, but I was appalled at the lack of information and forewarning given to me by the gatekeeper before letting me pay to enter the park grounds...

When I did check the website this was only AFTER entering the park, and only because I was trying to look up tickets for the wicked outdoor cinema showing that was going on today....

When your coming to visit Wales and on a tight schedule it would be very handy to know about these closures before hand wouldn't it?

I'm sure on a weekend day things would be different, but I wouldn't recommend anyone to try and come here during the weekdays, less you run a foul of the same things we did...

Because of the closures and the complete lack of advice or empathy from the gatekeeper, I will be leaving this one...

Have lived in Wales since 1998 and today managed to visit . Surprised you only pay to park the car and then no more charges . Got there at 10.00am and left at 4.00pm and could have stayed longer but had to leave . So so much to do . The farm animals so beutifull and the people that were with the Alpacas were so welcoming and answered lots of questions. Thank you. . The Castle ! Well after seeing it on you tube was desperate to visit and was not disappointed. Had a Quick Look at the amazing staircase but asked about tours of the main building . We were introduced to Peter who very very kindly took us on a personal tour of the most amazing atmospheric building , steeped in history . Peter was absolutely amazing and full of so so much information and knowledge of the building , he and his family lived in a cottage in the grounds , WOW. The fact that this was his time and is a volunteer as are many people that you see when you visit , over 100 do this for free . They rely on donations and the money from the car parking to keep this place running . The amount of time they spend just picking up your litter from around the ground is shameful , shame on you ! Please please put your litter in the bins or take it home , if these amazing people didn’t volunteer this place would not be open . Please if you can especially if Peter gives you a tour of the castle please make a donation , they really need it . Will be back soon . Cannot believe we haven’t been before and it’s right on our door step . We will be back because there is so much more to see . Thanking all the volunteers that help and give their time to help keep this...