Margam Country Park

With 800 acres of parkland, roaming deer, an abandoned castle, a ruined abbey, a farm and two of the best children’s playgrounds I’ve ever come across, Margam Country Park makes for a great day out.

Situated not far from the south Wales coast and close to the industrial town of Port Talbot, Margam Park is easy to get to from the M4.

I hadn’t been to Margam Park since I was a child, but had fond memories of its incredible playground and was keen to revisit it as an adult. So earlier this summer, on a baking hot day, I hopped in my car for a road trip and was not disappointed.

I arrived at Margam Park bright and early, which meant it was fairly quiet when I got to the estate. Being the castle-lover that I am, I immediately made my way to Margam Castle (more a country house than a traditional castle) for a look around.

Built in the 1830s, the enormous Tudor Gothic mansion (above) was the former home of the wealthy Mansel Talbot family, who were responsible for much of the area’s industrialisation and who helped introduce the railways to south Wales.

In 1974, the castle was acquired by Bridgend County Borough Council, but just three years later, a devastating fire gutted the mansion and today only small parts of it are open to the public.

I popped my head inside the door and found myself inside the great hall, at the centre of which was a very grand staircase (above).

The hall featured a small, informative exhibition about the Mansel Talbot family, which was interesting as I didn’t know anything about the family, and I learned a lot about their lives and how influential they were.

From the castle, I strolled down the hill to the ancient ruined abbey (above). The Cistercian Abbey was built in 1147 and like so many monastic buildings in England and Wales was dissolved by Henry VIII during the reformation.

Very little remains of the abbey, but it’s nevertheless an impressive structure with a few intriguing nooks and crannies to explore.

Beyond the ruined abbey is the Abbey Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, a small parish church, that’s still in use today. The church isn’t part of Margam Park, but you can go inside from the grounds of the estate and have a look around.

From the church, I walked to the park’s Orangery (above), an enormous Georgian structure that dates back to 1790. At that time it was built, it was said to be the longest orangery in Britain.

You can’t go inside the building (it’s mostly used as a wedding venue now), so I had a pleasant stroll around the gardens that surround it instead.

Having seen all there was to see in this part of the park, I made my way back towards the castle and then headed south through the parkland to the estate’s farm.

The farm is home to a host of animals, including the usual suspects such as pigs, cows, sheep, goats, chickens and even turkeys.

I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a live turkey before, so I was fascinated by them and spent quite a bit of time watching the birds strutting around their pen. 

From the farm, I set off to explore the rest of the park’s extensive grounds and planned to head up to the Pulpit, a viewpoint on a ridge overlooking the estate, as it’s said to boast fantastic views over the south Wales coast.

But as I began walking up the path to take me to the top of the hill, I turned a corner and stumbled across a large herd of deer, many of whom pricked up their heads as I strode into view.

Fallow deer have lived at Margam Park since at least Norman times and the deer, along with red and Pere David deer, freely roam around some 500 acres of the park.

I visited the park in June, during fawning season, and as such I’d passed a number of notices warning visitors to keep their distance from the deer as the parents were very protective of their young.

As soon as I turned the corner, the stags in the herd turned to look at me, eyeing my every move. Not wanting to agitate them any further, I decided it was best to turn around, rather than continue up the path as it would have brought me even closer to the deer.

While it was incredible to see the deer in their natural habitat, I was a little intimidated, too, as the stags clearly weren’t pleased to see me and I had no desire to find out what happens when a herd of stags charge at you.

Despite not making it to the top of the ridge, there was still a great chunk of the park left to explore and I spent the rest of my visit sticking to the more widely populated paths to avoid disturbing any more deer.

I had a lovely day out at Margam Park – I’d forgotten just how splendid it was – and it’s now firmly back on my list of local places to visit for a weekend stroll.

It’s huge and there’s so much to see and do, you can easily spend a whole day there. A real gem of a country park.

Info

Margam Country Park, SA13 2TJ
Open daily 10am-6pm (April to August), 10am-4pm (September to March)
Free entry, but there’s a £6 car parking charge for cars
margamcountrypark.co.uk