A first visit for me. Margam Country Park has been on my ‘to visit’ list for years and years. Finally got around to it. Didn’t disappoint as we saw the remains of the old monastery (12th century), its more modern parish church on the same site, the 19th century castle ‘pile’ with the longest orangery in Britain (apparently and deer. The views were to die for – Port Talbot Steelworks and across to Somerset – but we couldn’t see them because of the low cloud.
You can read more about the orangery on the website of Margam Country Park. It doesn’t need repeating here.
The remains of Margam Abbey can be found on the site. This abbey was founded in 1147 by Robert, Earl of Gloucester. Much of the stone was reused in the building of Margam Castle but what remains of the abbey is solid and quite spectacular.
Of course, the abbey was dissolved in 1536 but a parish church was eventually built on the same site.
We took a walk around the deer park on the longest of the waymarked trails, the green Cwm Philip trail, which took us to the highest parts of the estate for the wide-ranging views over Port Talbot Steelworks and across the Bristol Channel to Somerset and North Devon.
But weather was against us!
END.
Alex Hardisty 