Need a change from your usual park? Try some of these fantastic playgrounds
19 amazing playgrounds for kids in Wales that are well worth the journey
WE’VE all got a favourite park or playground to take the kids on a weekend or hot summer’s evening after school.
But if you’re tired of heading to the same places, here’s some inspiration on other places to go that might even beat your favourite local.
They’ve got so much to offer and we’re hoping that some of them are totally new to you, so you’ve got plenty of new places to try straight away. Enjoy!
1. WILD PLAY AREA, DYFFRYN GARDENS
Hidden in a corner of the grounds at Dyffryn Gardens is this fantastic play area for kids aged from anywhere from two to teenager. Kids can balance along enormous trees, jump from log to log along the stepping stones and have a picnic on handcarved picnic stumps.
The play area was built using trees felled as part of the arboretum revival plan at the gardens. And while you could spend a good couple of hours just in this play area, the rest of Dyffryn Gardens is a fantastic place to explore, with beautiful gardens, a historic house and plenty of places to have a picnic. You do have to pay to get in, though.
■ nationaltrust.org.uk/dyffryngardens
2. HENDY PARK, NEAR PONTARDDULAIS
It’s got two awesome zip wires (so smaller queues), a giant climbing frame made from rope, roundabouts, swings and an all-weather football pitch. The park itself has a soft 3G style surface so you don’t need to worry when the kids fall over and it’s brightly coloured too.
It’s easily one of the best kids’ play parks in the Swansea and Llanelli areas. And the best bit? It’s free.
The only downsides are very limited parking spaces in the area and also nowhere to buy food - unless you count the local shop.
3. LIDO PLAY AT LIDO PONTY
The wonderful lido next door gets all the attention, but if you don’t fancy a swim (or it’s too cold!) the playground right outside the pool is just as great.
Open all year round, it’s the perfect place to play safely among swings, slides and seesaws, imaginative play, climbing and balancing equipment – all with a local theme.
Of course, the best thing to do is spend all day at both - with lunch in either the on-site café, or another in Ponty’s town centre.
■ rctcbc.gov.uk/Lido
4. PIRATE ADVENTURE AT FOLLY FARM
Folly Farm is an amazing place for families to spend the day. Usually it’s the animals — such as the gorgeous rhinos or stunning giraffes (which you can almost touch!) — which get all the headlines. But if you’ve got young kids, you may find it difficult to get them out of Folly Farm’s outdoor play areas.
The huge pirate ships, fort with climbing ropes, slides, tubes and netted rope walks will occupy them for hours. If your kids exhaust both this playground and see all the animals, there’s also the Destruction Playground, where they can play with sand diggers.
■ folly-farm.co.uk/play/outdoorplay/
5. MOUNTAIN VIEW RANCH, CARDIFF
Another place that just eats up the hours, Mountain View Ranch on the outskirts of Cardiff has a huge amount to offer children. Around the ranch you’ll find an amazing tree house, a magical fairy forest, a campfire with marshmallow toasting, hobbit houses and Wales’ only officially licensed Gruffalo Trail.
And make the large playground — with its rope walks, swings and masses of sand — the place your kids tire themselves out before they go home. The café does a mean pizza and chips too, and service is quick.
mountainviewranch.co.uk
6. COSMESTON LAKES COUNTRY PARK
There are more than 240 acres of land and water at Cosmeston, which can easily eat up a whole day.
There are boardwalks around lakes (where you might catch a dragon boat race if you’re lucky), paths through woodland, and a reconstructed medieval village.
And in a corner of the park is a sizeable playground with lots of features that make it stand out from your average playground.
■ valeofglamorgan.gov.uk/Cosmeston
7. VICTORIA PARK, CARDIFF
Stakes a strong claim for the title of best park in Cardiff, with two playgrounds for children of different ages (all with soft flooring) and loads of grass for them to run around or to set up for a picnic.
In the summer you’ll see mini trampolines and a bouncy castle/ slide (which you have to pay for) and there’s a cracking little café and separate ice creak kiosk. But it’s the splashpad that’s the jewel in the park’s crown, a fantastic wet play area with a giant tipping bucket at its centre, which soaks screaming kids.
8 . THE PLAYGROUND AT ROATH PARK, CARDIFF
Housed in the vast and wonderful Roath Park with its huge boating lake is the playground, complete with its strikingly large slide. There’s loads for kids of all ages — from toddlers to teenagers — and in the summer there’s an inflatable slide too, which you have to pay for.
9. THE PLAYGROUND AT CARDIFF BAY BARRAGE
The barrage, which stretches from Penarth right over to the Porth Teigr end of Cardiff Bay, is a lovely place to go to mix a nice walk with enough activities to keep the kids occupied.
Take your pick of places in the bay for an ice cream or milkshake.
10. MARGAM PARK
There’s so much to do in Margam Park, so it’s lucky that there’s a train that takes you from the car park to the castle, which is as much of an attraction to kids as any playground.
From the castle to the orangery to the deer, it’s easy to spend a day here. But it’s the play areas that will really keep them occupied — and tire them out. The adventure playground has a castle, slides, a large net swing and rope bridge and elevated walkway, with picnic benches that let you have a rest while they let off some steam.
There’s also a Children’s Fairytale Land for kids 10 and under, with areas split into those for children aged six to 10 and those at toddler age. There’s also a woodland trail and farm trail.
■ www.margamcountrypark.co. uk
11. CASTLE PLAYGROUND, ABERYSTWYTH
As gorgeous a playground setting as you’ll find in Wales, this cute play area has the Old College, St Michael’s Church, Aberystwyth’s castle and the sea all as its backdrop. And no other playground in Wales can say that.
Of course, it’s a long drive for many, but Aberystwyth has plenty to fill your day if you decide to make a day of it, including lots of places to eat or grab a coffee. In fact, very close to the castle is Pysgoty, one of the best seafood restaurants anywhere in Wales. You can see our 50 best restaurants in Wales here.
12. PLAY AREA AT BLACKPILL LIDO, SWANSEA
The popular splash site also has picnic facilities and a children’s play area, along with a paddling pool and climbing rock - making it an ideal day out with the kids.
Attractions nearby include Clyne Gardens and the Bay Rider — and of course you’ve got all of Swansea Bay to take advantage of if you like. ■ swansea.gov.uk/blackpilllido
13. GARWNANT VISITOR CENTRE, NEAR MERTHYR
Five miles north of Merthyr Tydfil, you’ll find you’ll find walking trails, junior mountain biking routes and a fantastic playground surrounded by the gorgeous scenery of the tops of the Valleys.
It has a climbing frame and swings, a net climbing frame, wooden obstacle course, swings and zip wire. In her post on a visit to the park with her family , parenting blogger Cardiff Mummy Says said: “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a playground with a better view.”
14. HEATH PARK, CARDIFF
This is a 91-acre park, so plenty of room to run around! Have fun on the wooden climbing structure complete with rope bridge - or for the little ones there’s a smaller climbing frame.
There’s also pitch-and-putt golf and once a month the Cardiff Model Engineering Society open their miniature railway to the public. Visitors can ride on miniature steam engines for a small charge.
15. CYFARTHFA CASTLE PARK, MERTHYR
You can visit Cyfarthfa Park and have a complete day out. Start in the Active Zone Splash Pad, move onto the playground, which has swings, slides and climbing frames.
Play a spot of golf or explore the castle and its history with an audio tour and have a cuppa at the tea room.
16. BARRY SIDINGS COUNTRY PARK, PONTYPRIDD
The playground has swings, a climbing frame with slides and a climbing net, among plenty of other things that kids love.
But there’s lots more to this wonderful park, including nature trails, large ponds and the BMX track that it’s especially well-known for.
17. PORTHKERRY PARK
Porthkerry Park is made up of 220 acres of woodland and meadows, and the adventure playground has swings, climbing frame and a slide.
The park has a number of nature trails, picnic sites, a café and barbecue areas for hire. And it neighbours a pebble beach and the Vale of Glamorgan’s spectacular cliffs, so if the children have had their fill of the playground, there’s loads more to fill a day out.
■ visitthevale.com/PorthkerryCountry-Park
18. ROMILLY PARK, BARRY
The relatively new playground has plenty of things for children of different ages, with a climbing frame with slide, baby and big swings and a wooden obstacle course.
In the rest of the park there are streams and ponds and, to make a day of it, you can head to the Knap Lake or nearby pebble beach and grab a coffee in one of the nearby cafés.
19. BRYNGARW COUNTRY PARK
Daredevils go for the famous tower slide alone! This one beats Roath’s by a mile (not literally) and is part of a unit with two other slides on it.
But the slide isn’t the only fun thing there - there are climbing frames, roundabouts and the rest of the beautiful park to cover.
■ www.bryngarwcountrypark. co.uk