Just a few miles from the M4, this Park has 113 acres of woodlands and lakes to wander around, and…read morepaths beside the River Garw. There are also formal, ornamental gardens and a Japanese style Tea Garden Pavilion. Refreshments, available in season, can be found next to the car park. For a more formal meal, there's the Harlequin Restaurant at the house. A nice place to walk.

Was married at bryngarw house 24th oct 2009. Also held our…read morereception there and the weather appart,bryngarw proved tobe the perfect wedding venue. Would highly recomend everything associated with country house and there staff.

This is one of Wales' best kept secrets. The best family day out in Wales. For sure. Margam Country…read morePark has so much going on all year around, that I feel a list may be in order: 10 REASONS TO GO TO MARGAM PARK: 1) 1000 acres of amazing scenery and parkland 2) Historic buildings and stunning architecture: picturesque Tudor-Gothic style Victorian Mansion House 3) Park train, taking you all around the place (save energy for point 4) 4) Children's adventure playground! Complete with a zip swing. 5) Fairytale Land; for children of any age, complete with a miniature castle/maze. 6) The hedge maze. 7) Outdoor giant chess/drafts, by the ice cream outlet. 8) Margam deer herd wandering peacefully around the play. 9) Mountain biking... 10) Walking, crazy golf, farm trails, canoes, fishing, camping, pony trekking... There are incredible events running throughout the year, including craft fairs, battle reenactment and Halloween haunted tours. This really is an amazing and magical place with secrets and surprises quite literally around every corner. Enjoy!

Addicted to eighteenth century related houses and their history? Then this park is the most…read moreglorious place to visit. You will be surprised at every corner that you take; there is an eighteenth Century Orangery, the twelfth Century Chapter House, the most cutest deer herd within the whole of Wales and there are so many of them that photographers won't know what to do with themselves. A Tudor-Gothic style, Victorian Mansion House and Ornamental gardens also take place at the stunning area, where Margam Park lie's. I love this place it is so beautiful it is hard not to want to live there; if it was available to do so and it you could afford such fantastic house and it's ground. It would be a brilliant day out for all, which would be great for parents and children too. You can find out all that you need to on the companies fantastic website. There is so much to see and do there that you will have to go back there more than once, a fabulous summer holiday, day out. Fun for all the family! It is a place that is situated near Port Talbot which is about half an hour away from Cardiff. So I recommend it to all...

If your preference is for rugged, raw, untamed and wild, look no further, here is a beach that will…read moresuit you to a T! Remote and windswept (well, it is at the moment, even though it's supposed to be mid-summer), you could call it bleak. But, there's beauty in bleak. A vast expanse of virgin sand backed by a pebbly foreshore and then behind that the warren of sand dunes that makes up the rest of the Kenfig National Nature Reserve. It's a trek to get here, from Rest Bay in Porthcawl via a small bit of the newly opened Wales Coast Path. Or from the Nature Reserve car park by Kenfig Pool, trudge along the myriad sandy tracks and pathways that try their best to disorientate you, make you feel like you're a million miles away in the Gobi desert, lost until found as skeletal remains (OK, maybe a bit OTT - they're bound to find you long before decomposition sets in). Surfing, lazing, throwing pebbles, making sandcastles, watching wild-life, chatting to the resident life-guard, or his girlfriend, burying your head in the sand, watching the amazing sunsets; these are all acceptable activities at this lonely but lovely beach. Definitely recommended

The Gnoll Country Park is a lovely escape from the hustle and bustle of town. It has something for…read moreeveryone, with peaceful waterside walks around lakes, elaborate restored cascades and then wilder parts with clambering woodland paths plus coarse fishing. There are stunning views from the higher parts of the park and it provides a calm retreat on sunny hot days(when we have them!) when the coast is crowded out. There's a great children's play area next to the visitor centre and cafe, plus lots of entertaining ducks, geese and swans who frequently tread the paths around the visitor's centre.

We've lived in Port Talbot for years and only recently discovered this beautiful park - now the…read morekids love it. There's plenty of parking with easy access to the adventure playground, park, lake and visitor centre and we enjoy walking through the unspoilt woodlands and watching the varied wildlife. The open grassy areas are perfect for picnics and playing ball games.

My little dog and I spent two hours walking one of the trails. The path used to weave through the…read moreforest but today we found a desolate and bleak hillside. All the trees have been cut down. There is a visitor centre where you can buy detailed maps and there's a café. Parking is £1 and there are showers and toilets on site. Bikes are available to rent with different level routes.

Marvellous, huge forest, trails of all kinds - steep gradients for serious mountain-bikers,…read moreless-strenuous ones for walkers, many even suitable for wheelchairs. You can walk all day in this forest admiring the lovely views without retracing your steps - and without meeting many other people either. There are some benches here and there and picnic tables down by the river. There are useful maps available in the visitor centre and there's a small shop for gifts in there too. I find the self service cafe very disappointing however as the menu (which hasn't changed for years) is extremely boring and unimaginative and the staff aren't friendly. There's almost nothing available for vegetarians either and nothing for vegans apart from the inevitable potato with boring old baked beans. Why on earth can't they even keep a box of veggie burgers in the freezer? So, to sum up: fantastic forest but poor cafe. UPDATE JAN 2009: Same old menu but when we asked, they found a tin of vegetable soup which was very nice. The lady who served us was friendlier this time. They had a delivery when we were there and I noticed that all the boxes contained pre-cooked baked potatoes, Yorkshire puddings, and other ready-meals. So don't expect home cooking but it's not expensive so that's one good thing. It's somewhere warm to shelter from the freezing wind too.

Margam Park set in all of its rural splendour is a breath of fresh air, everytime I go there it…read morefeels like anything bothering me just floats away. It has a real tranquility and gentle ambience and is great for the kids too. When I was a young a large hedge maze existed there and it would be great if they built that up again as it was a definite highlight. As it is, the castle, grounds, orangery and Margam pulpit are amazing and definitely worth visiting for a day out. Take a picnic!

Margam park is beautifully maintained all year round. There are many picnic areas to stop and have…read morea spot to each. There is also a giant maze in which to loose the kids. The adventure playground is great for the children. There are some lovely country walks to be undertaken. There is a visitor centre which is worth stopping in to gather information. Id definately recommend a visit here!

Bridgend's emerald jewel, Newbridge Fields. A perfect place to sit back and listen to the thwock of…read morethe cricket ball, squinting at the dazzling white fielders lazily returning to their expectant positions. A place to enjoy a lovely summers day. OK, it's not always summer, but all year round the Fields host events, games, strolling, walking the dog, sitting, general activity, meetings, in a beautiful setting bound along their far edge by the gurgling River Ogmore, which curves its way round under the steep wooded slopes of its furthest shore. Watch out for leaping fish, herons and kingfishers along its banks. Walk from here all the way to the coast at Merthry Mawr, via the lovely Dipping Bridge ( http://www.qype.co.uk/place/1475439-The-Dipping-Bridge-Bridgend ) and the unasuming New Bridge ( http://www.qype.co.uk/place/2585907-New-Bridge-Bridgend?hide_related=true ). Not to be missed.

It's a lovely park very close to where we live, with a large lake and some small ones, where people…read morelike to feed the ducks and swans (and occasional seagulls). Great for walks in the woodland and around the lakes. The cafe is quite good and fairly inexpensive, though not much for vegetarians (why can't cafes keep some veggie burgers in the freezer to offer in addition to all the meat burgers?) Today there was a potato and cheese pie on offer which looked nice, though more choice would be good. The staff weren't particularly friendly, though not actually hostile. They could try to be a bit more welcoming though. On the plus side, it's pleasant on the inside of the building with occasional school exhibits and information about the park, and large windows overlooking the largest lake. There are also a few tables outside.

Over the years the Gnoll Park has changed a lot and when they added the Visitors Centre it was…read morecertainly a change for the better. The centre is situated next to the children's play area and the lake which has a huge variety of ducks, which is always a firm favourite with the children and you can purchase bags of food for them from the shop inside the Visitors Centre. There is a wealth of information on offer for both children and adults and the centre is a firm favourite with my granddaughter (though I suspect that the food and the ducks have a big part to play in this). All in all an excellent day out for everyone and best of all it's free, including the parking.

This is a wonderful place for a walk! Not only is Richard Burton's childhood home here (a terraced…read morehouse on the main road) and one of the entrances to the massive Afan Argoed Forest Park, but there is an impressive, mile long circular walk you can do here which will take you over both a tall 19th century viaduct and a disused aqueduct! Start opposite the shop in Pontrhydyfen (there is only one!) and take the left hand fork facing you (Station Road) instead of going down the steep hill. Walk along here past the cemetery and a little further on turn right onto the aqueduct. After appreciating the marvellous views of the Afan Valley, cross to the other side, turn right into the village of Oakwood and walk to the end. Follow a grassy track which winds down some steps and then turn right onto the viaduct. This is another great place for views back over the village of Pontrhydyfen and the aqueduct, although the sides are high - you might need to stand on tiptoe! Keep going until a woodland 'crossroads' then turn right and follow the river back to the road, where you will turn left and left again up the steep hill to take you back to where you started. Not far from where we live and a walk we often enjoy at all times of year.