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!

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...

Certainly not a fancy gallery, the building itself is if anything slightly run down; none of that…read morereally matters though, as I was most impressed by the actual exhibitions and the staff, which make this gallery worth a visit. The building is not too large, there are only really three rooms with art on display (one of them is rather minuscule). Whilst this inevitably makes the exhibitions small, I believe the available space is effectively used and the work on display is integrated seamlessly. The gallery generally houses exhibitions with pieces focusing on the topic of pre and post apartheid South Africa. Whilst mainly works of photography, there are one or two sculptures, and there are two installations which feature a projector. I found the present exhibition to be: - fascinating, evocative, odd, thought provoking, and on occasion slightly disturbing; reactions that I'm sure the gallery and the artists featured would desire. I was particularly impressed by the staff, who were both incredibly knowledgeable yet un patronising (they really offered a wealth of information). Unless you're particularly fascinated by art of South African origin, I wouldn't recommend making a trip to Penarth solely to visit this gallery, advice which is not issued in criticism, but due to the small size of the gallery (it would only take you 30mins at the most to explore). Penarth however is a fantastic little area of South Wales, so I recommend that you combine a trip to this gallery with a visit to other local attractions.

I'm a big fan of this gallery…read more Despite living just down the road from it for a number of months, I only really ventured in for the first time last week. I was pleasantly surprised by the modern and professional atmosphere that I suddenly found myself in. I'm not entirely sure what I had been expecting, but it was certainly not the wonderful photographic presentation before me. Although the gallery is small, they do a lot to maximise their space and put their artwork together in a thought provoking and interesting way, rather than just hanging it on the wall. This is a lovely gem not far from the train station, Penarth Pier and lots of cafes. I advise you to make a day of it.

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.

Beautiful spot, just behind the car park for the sand dunes near Merthyr Mawr village - hidden up…read morethe bank and easily missed. Not really a castle but an old fortified manor house built around 14th century and abandoned in 19th century - (why would they do that?? A ye olde pad by one of the biggest sand dune playgrounds in Europe, where scenes from Lawrence of Arabia were filmed??). Anyway, they did leave it and it's now a bit of a ruin but just as fascinating - you can crawl through little crevices, pick your way up a dank staircase and peer into the gloom of the dark cellar room. Shame they've blocked off access to the uppermost walls, that was fun and nicely dangerous - you'll just have to be more inventive. (These health and safety people perhaps should be hung out to dry, maybe from a high window!) Lovely surrounds, green and brown and red woodlands, huge golden sand dunes - bring a picnic (and maybe a thermal blanket) for out door dining needs, excellent.

This a ruined manor house within the woodland set amidst the Merthyr Mawr dunes a couple of miles…read morefrom Bridgend I used to play here as a child and still have very fond memories Worth having a look around if you can spare the time

Clevedon Pier is a seaside pier in the town of Clevedon, Somerset, England on the east shore of the…read moreSevern Estuary. It was described by Sir John Betjeman, as "the most beautiful pier in England" and was designated a Grade I listed building in 2001. The pier was built during the 1860s to attract tourists and provide a ferry port for rail passengers to South Wales. The pier is 312 m (1,024 ft) long and consists of eight spans supported by steel rails covered by wooden decking, with a pavilion on the pier head. The pier opened in 1869 and served as an embarkation point for paddle steamer excursions for almost 100 years. Two of the spans collapsed during stress testing in 1970 and demolition was proposed, but local fund raising and heritage grants allowed the pier to be dismantled for restoration and reassembled. It reopened in 1989, and ten years later was awarded the Pier of the Year from the National Piers Society, and a Civic Trust Award. The pier now offers a landing stage for steamers and is a popular attraction for tourists and anglers.

Awesome! Great views of Wales any time of the year, through wind, rain and shine. Not to mention…read morethe Edwardian town of Clevedon with its history and charm.

This museum was a great unexpected find.. Located in the…read morebasement of the Cardiff castle gift shop. It is the historical museum and displays of the history of the Welsh soldier, through out history. Nice displays, and lots of information. A history buff Paradise.. They ask for a donation.. Please visit the museum, when going to Cardiff castle..

one of the best free museums ive been to! lots of interesting information and interactive setups. i…read morerecommend checking this museum out if you're visiting cardiff!

Your City, Your Story…read more Opening in early 2011, this will be the first museum where Cardiffians and visitors alike can see the story of the city through the eyes of its people. Housed in the historic Old Library building in the heart of Cardiff city centre it aims to offer 'a fun, free, family day out and a fantastic learning and community resource.' More of their blurb says this... 'An international cultural venue which is an inclusive, exciting and inspirational resource; bringing people together to help them learn about the making of Cardiff, its diverse narratives and the multi-cultural communities which created the capital city of Wales.' If all goes to plan the museum will be a great starting point for any visit to Cardiff, providing an introduction to the city's history and pointing visitors to places where they can find out more. In the lead up to the opening of The Cardiff Story, while the museum is being developed, the first floor galleries will continue to run a diverse programme of art and history exhibitions, as per usual and you can also enjoy a sneak preview of some of the objects and stories that will feature in the galleries. The downstair cafe/bar remains a great place to hang out too.