This museum is absolutely amazing! It is a huge outdoor museum, although it does have a few…read moreexhibits in the main building. Once you step outside, you can feel yourself being transported back in time (if you overlook the paved walkways). There are buildings that have been moved here from all over Wales, with deep history and great staff available to answer any questions.

Genuinely an amazing staple of the outer Cardiff community. The staff in the restaurant and…read moreadventure climbing are incredibly enthusiastic and helpful. There are so many child friendly activities. Admission is free, and they often put on holiday related markets and other things. They put up the Gwalia and other shops, shops my Grandmother visited daily in the 50's. This is not only preserving Welsh local history, but also the story of my Grandmother. This is amazing, Great!

Abergavenny Castle is home to the Museum set in a fantastic Normal Castle (dates back to c. 1087AD)…read moreset on the banks of the River Gavenny it provides an ideal location to stroll around or eat you picnic. Abergavenny has phenomenal weather for this area of Wales as it lies in a Rain Shadow - fabulously sunny days can be had beneath the Sugar loaf Mountain when all around are donning their rain coats. The Museum was formerly a hunting lodge and now houses a mock 18th century kitchen, grocers and other fascinating artefacts. Situated in a beautiful town this is certainly worth a visit ad with FREE admission and a home made picnic, your children will have a fab day for the cost of a home-made sandwich - beats any Theme park I know! Also host many events including key parts of the famous Abergavenny food festival!

A beautiful place to walk up and around the remaining walls of the castle. Picturesque against the…read morefoggy mountains. The staff in the museum was welcoming, the quaint exhibits were catered towards children and adults. Worth a visit!

This place is lovely, a really nice place to walk around in and discover bits of welsh history…read more Free to enter, which is a novelty for an English girl like me, as places of this vain over the border such as blists hill and beamish charge entry. You can leave a donation, and there's a small fee for parking, but after that you're on your way. You can take a picnic, or you can eat in one of the cafes, get stuff from the bakery. We ate in the cafe, and had the welsh afternoon tea, welsh cakes, scones, sandwiches, all lovely, the bakery wasn't open as late as it said on the door, which was the only bummer, but the rest of it was great. A mock village made up of buildings of different eras, with a good number of buildings that illustrate history and culture. Livestock, shops, gardens, vehicles, all informative, with signs in welsh and English. It's open air, so its a family/couples/cultural friends day out for a pleasant day, you want to give yourself some time to get around it!

Set in over 40 acres of parkland around the 16th century St Fagan's castle, 4 miles (6km) west of…read moreCardiff, this was one Europe's first open-air museums. It includes over 40 buildings from across Wales which illustrate its history and culture, such as schools, workshops, churches, shops, civic buildings and of course a variety of dwellings. The museum has a range of activities taking place associated with the buildings, with craftsmen making a variety of products (food, pottery, metalwork) for sale. The farm features collections of traditional breeds of livestock. Some of the buildings also contain displays of historical objects, clothing etc. A nice touch is the row of mine-worker's cottages, each one furnished to reflect different periods from the late 1800's to the present day. The museum also hosts a number of festivals during the year, and there is a restaurant, cafe and tea-room. When I lived in Cardiff, this was a regular destination to take friends from outside the UK. It is an excellent introduction to Wales and Welsh culture: but allow a whole day to do it justice, and wear comfortable footwear...

Wow! what a beautiful place in an i-sore of an industrial town. Once hailed the largest town in…read moreWales, Merthyr Tydfil is now the home to the Gurnos estate, the highest number of benefit claimers and the good old Merthyr Martyrs. But, its also home to Carfartha Castle,previous home to the Crawshay's, the owners of the Merthyr Ironworks. Set in luscious green grass the castle stands proud on the mountainside visible from quite a few angles in Merthyr. The park itself is something to behold with the cute little lake and acres of grass to loll about in. A nice park for the kiddie winkles and in the summer there's a small, yet freezing cold little paddling pool. Hey,it cant have it all can it? The castle itself plays host to a museum which is free to enter and plays home to a small tea room where the grub is top notch! You can get married here too, and even if you don't many couples opt to have their wedding pictures here, so the best time to visit, if your an old romantic like yours truly, is a Saturday during the summer months. Well worth a little hour out, whether to feed the ducks, have a little wander, learn some valuable, rugged, Welsh history or have a wee wedding perv!

Situated on the outskirts of Merthyr Tydfil Cyfartha Castle is well worth a visit. The castle was…read morethe home of the Crawshay family, the owners of the Merthyr Ironworks, which played a pivotal role in the history of the industrial revolution. Part of the building which is set in large parkland is the local comprehensive school but there is also a fascinating museum/art gallery, in part of the Crawshay's former home. There are a number of re-creations illustrating the rich and varied history of Merthyr as well as several galleries housing paintings, precious artefacts, and natural history and collections. The museum which is free entry, has a well stocked shop with books, and a variety of souvenirs and a small tea room. Be warned though, on the day I visited, the tea room was closed at 3pm despite the website stating 4pm so visiting later in the day may be worth having your cup of tea before exploring the museum. The grounds of the castle are well worth exploring and in summer months often host concerts, one held by Donny Osmond some years ago being particularly remembered (though not by myself, I hasten to add).

This is a beautiful old house just outside Newport, very easy to get to from the motorway, and well…read moreworth a visit. For anyone who's a fan of BBC costume dramas, then this is the type of house that would make any Jane Austen heroine fall in love with even the most ruthless and cutthroat of villainous rich men. It packs quite a punch. Sitting in 90 acres of surrounding parkland, this is a lovely oasis of tranquillity. The house and gardens are open to the public during the summer months, and there are also countless festivals and seasonal events happening throughout the rest of the year. There is also a short avenue of arts and crafts shops which are open throughout the year. Here you'll find Busy Bees Patchwork and many other pottery, art and smithies. Pop along for a cultural afternoon.

Tanya is right on the money when she says this park is straight out of a BBC costume drama (don't…read moreeven get me started on their version of Pride and Prejudice - I know the whole damn thing by heart and that series is most likely the reason I moved to the UK in the first place). I used to work at the government building that's right around the corner, so a few lunch hours were spent walking around this park's stunning grounds. The park and woodland walk is open from 9 am to dusk. The House is open from Easter to the end of September, with house tours from Wednesday - Sunday. Tours last a little over an hour starting at 11am, then run hourly until 4pm. Events are held year round, and more information can be found on their website. Tredegar House is licensed for weddings and caters for conferences, although I'm happy just meandering around the park with the grand house serving as part of the background. If you're not a driver, you can get here via the number 30 and 36 Cardiff Bus, which I'd recommend instead of taking the train, as Newport Railway Station is a fair bit away.

This is a museum in South Wales which tells all about the colliery history in the area. In the same…read moremanner as The Big Pit, Rhondda Heritage Park strives to tell the story of local toil, plight and humanity through a delightful series of galleries and interactive exhibitions. Unlike The Big Pit, however, you cannot go down into the mines here, as they have long since been closed off. They do have a very convincing reenactment space though, and for those easily beguiled or young at heart, you might just believe you really are far underground. At the end of the tour there is a Simulation ride, where you are flung along cave tunnels in the back of a coal cart. This is, from what I remember of childhood visits, probably the highlight. The guide many years ago said that everyone begged to run the ride again, but they would never do it. Not even for the Queen, he said. (At 9, this shocked me.) Rhondda Heritage Park is a good place for a family afternoon out; particularly amusing if you're visiting with someone afraid of the dark.

This is a wonderful park to have a day out in with children! There is just so much to see and do…read morehere, I have fond memories of when I was a child, going here to this park. I even have some dreams about the place as walk back along the small, grey rocks that lay on the flat and hard ground that seems to be near something like a train station or something. Then I just fade out of it, quickly... I remember feeling terrified at the thought of going underground and following the footsteps of what a minor would have used to have taken. We had a story and health instructions given to us before we entered the mine and the dark, cold and a narrow lift with one small light bulb lighting it up. We had to wear hard helmets with small, light bulbs blaring out from the top of you helmets. You can at first go and see The Visitor Centre, which has; an Art Gallery, a café on level one, a gift shop and a period village that has been re-constructed called Village Street. Entry to this heritage park is mostly free; if it is a special event day there then you have to pay to enter the place. I recommend this place to all, especially to children and their parents.

Gord and I toured Cardiff Castle last Wednesday afternoon. It's in the city centre…read more The site has been occupied for nearly 2,000 years. The Romans built a fort there around AD 55 to help control the area. Later, they replaced it with a much stronger stone fort and parts of those Roman walls are still standing today. After the Romans left, the Normans arrived following the conquest of England. Around the late 11th century they built a castle inside the old Roman fort. The large grassy mound in the middle and the stone keep on top are from this period. During the Middle Ages, Cardiff Castle became an important stronghold and was involved in various conflicts between Norman lords and Welsh rulers. Over time, it evolved from a military fortress into a grand residence. The castle's most famous makeover happened in the 1800s when the incredibly wealthy John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute hired architect William Burges. Together they transformed it into the spectacular Gothic-style palace you see today, with lavish rooms, murals, towers and intricate decorations. During the Second World War, tunnels beneath the castle walls were used as air-raid shelters for thousands of Cardiff residents. In 1947, the Bute family gave the castle to the city, and today Cardiff Castle is one of Wales's most popular attractions.

A must-see if you are in Cardiff. There is so much history inside these castle walls and it…read moreconveniently located adjacent to the city center. You can opt to go on guided-tours or wander at your leisure. I was there on a rainy day and there were very few visitors, so I really felt like I went back in time. The WWII museum was pretty intense; it might have been the dark, rainy weather or the creepy background music or the dim lights, but I could literally feel the anxiety of those that had been seeking shelter in those tunnels. While the grounds and first floor of the house are wheelchair accessible, the rest of the grounds are not. I was recovering from a broken leg, and I had to take a few steps to do the tunnel tour and I was unable to ascend the MANY stairs that lead up to the fortress at the top of the hill. The visitor center houses ruins of the original Roman wall that dates back to the 1st centaury AD, a gift shop, and a café. The experience is 100% worth the entry fee and I highly recommend if you are visiting Cardiff.

This museum is the perfect price. Free! It is a wonderful way to spend a couple of hours. There…read moreis lots of natural history as well as cultural history. Everything is in both English and Welsh. The natural history area had videos ad well as exhibits detailing the geographic history of the region. The Art of the Selfie exhibit had a small cost which was quite fair. Van Gogh's Self Portrait was the main draw, but they also had Rembrandt and other artists. In the other rooms, there were so many artifacts. Rooms within rooms and beyond, you can lose hours reading about everything on display.

it was a pretty good experience, but no one warned me that the bloody dinosaurs are getting starved…read morebecause they are literally just bones. animal mistreatment is NOT a joke I want to support, I cannot believe the STATE of this museum. Good value for money as its free. Cool stones and a selection of STARVED AND DEAD animals. and the service was poor because they encourage this. the toilets are good for kids, AND OTHER THINGS.