{"id":7542,"date":"2020-05-03T13:57:59","date_gmt":"2020-05-03T12:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7542"},"modified":"2020-05-03T14:23:43","modified_gmt":"2020-05-03T13:23:43","slug":"margam-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=7542","title":{"rendered":"Footsteps – Margam Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

Margam Park<\/strong><\/p>\n

Margam Park – <\/strong>We are going back to February for this month\u2019s walk, just a week after storm Dennis. The weather forecast was 40-45mph winds with rain later. This was enough for some of us to think that maybe we should be cancelling but we decided to give it a go. We were lucky – it was dry all day and windy but wind speed was only about 20-25mph.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

When we arrived at Margam Park there were two other groups in the small car park near the lake \u2013 one was Cardiff Ramblers which included people from Culverhouse X. The car park was very full as a result with us taking the last two places which involved some manoeuvring to reverse down the narrow track and squeeze into small spaces. An impatient driver who was probably upset that he didn\u2019t get a space roared down the track going off-road to pass other vehicles coming in the opposite direction and spraying mud everywhere as well as thumping the bottom of his car quite violently on a large rock which produced a cracking sound!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Margam deer herd roams through approximately 500 acres of parkland. It dates from Norman times, the herd, originally exclusively fallow, is of excellent genetic quality to rival any herd in the British Isles.<\/p>\n

The water in the lake was quite high with lots of birds swimming around including at least two swans. Mute swans, coots, moorhens, Canada geese, mallard, tufted duck and pochard inhabit the lakes. Whilst the patient observer may see kingfishers beside the streams, skylarks, stonechats and wheatears can be seen over the grasslands with buzzards, kestrels and the occasional red kite in the skies. As it was February and quite cold we saw little in the way of birds whilst walking. We heard one when climbing but we actually saw just a couple of crows when eating lunch.<\/p>\n

Margam Park owes its location to the monastery, which was privatised following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1537. We climbed to a ruin, which still has all four walls standing (at least in part). This was an outlying monastery building, Capel Mair ar y Bryn, (the chapel of St Mary on the hill). It is thought that its purpose was to allow members of the monastic community to fulfil their devotional duties, when engaged in keeping flocks, without returning to the main church. From here we could look down on Margam Castle. The house was built in 1830-40 at a cost of \u00a350,000 using sandstone from Pyle quarry and as a mansion of exceptional quality it is Listed Grade I. The Castle has some spectacular features such as the vast stair hall and octagonal tower.<\/p>\n

We followed the edge of a wood to pick up the Wales Coast path taking us towards Brombil. On the escarpment above the motorway is one of a network of early warning radar stations that were built along the coast from 1941 to detect German bombers and shipping during World War II. The Margam station is a scheduled ancient monument. Three flat-topped buildings stand high on the escarpment overlooking Port Talbot and Swansea Bay. They would have housed generators and control equipment, with large antennae on the roof.<\/p>\n

Now we turned northwest into Cwm Brombil and crossed a small but fast running stream. The name of the valley and the atmosphere of the place made some of us think of Bilbo Baggins from Tolkein\u2019s \u2018Lord of the Rings\u2019.<\/p>\n

Climbing quite a steep track we looked down onto the \u2018Blue Pool\u2019 so called because the water is bright blue especially in sunshine. There were a group of wild swimmers enjoying themselves and inviting us to join them. They were obviously having a great time but as they left the water their skin looked bright red and raw with the cold. Brrr…<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Although swathes of trees had been felled we soon entered the cover provided by woodland and stopped for lunch, half of us perching on tree stumps and the rest on grassy tussocks. It was cold here at the top of our walk and we could see our breath in the air. We spotted tadpoles in a puddle beside the path.<\/p>\n

Towards the end of the walk we took a slight diversion to a wider path as we were concerned that trees or branches may block our planned route. The descent through woodland with gnarled and fallen trees was easier and coming into the open we could see our path etched in the hillside above us. It had been firm underfoot throughout the walk which was a bonus after the winter\u2019s rain.<\/p>\n

As we approached the lake again we spotted a ruin beside the path \u2013 a very posh boathouse? We retired to Pyle garden centre for welcome refreshment.<\/p>\n

Walk 8 miles and 1700ft climb. Maps 165 & 166.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Margam Park Margam Park – We are going back to February for this month\u2019s walk, just a week after storm Dennis. The weather forecast was 40-45mph winds with rain later. This was enough for some of us to think that maybe we should be cancelling but we decided to give it a go. We were lucky – it was dry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-1XE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16789,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=16789","url_meta":{"origin":7542,"position":0},"title":"Margam Park and Merthyr Mawr","author":"Alan Williams","date":"27th March 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Margam Park We parked at the small fishing lake near Margam Abbey, the drive over had been misty and as we started out it was raining. Heading north we passed the lake with ducks and swans. Margam park is one of 22 sentinel sites across Wales acting as an early\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Footsteps-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13527,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13527","url_meta":{"origin":7542,"position":1},"title":"ST. MARY\u2019S CHURCH NEWS – SEPT 2023","author":"Alan Williams","date":"31st August 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"AUGUST REPORT By the time you are reading this, schools are on the point of resuming for the Autumn Term, and following the cold, wet summer, let us hope for a brighter warmer September. The three churches came together to celebrate the Holy Eucharist at St Bleddian\u2019s on the fifth\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "St Mary's Parish Church News"","block_context":{"text":"St Mary's Parish Church News","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3237,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3237","url_meta":{"origin":7542,"position":2},"title":"April Walks","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st May 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Margam Park:- We parked next to the lake just outside Margam Park and made our way along the main track towards the deer park. Marshals stood near a stream, there was a run across the park and the runners were expected to go through this stream not once but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3560,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=3560","url_meta":{"origin":7542,"position":3},"title":"Term End Report","author":"Alan Williams","date":"28th July 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Well, here we are, almost at the end of this academic year and what a fantastic year it has been! Our Year 6 pupils led a super Leavers Assembly last Friday, sharing their memories of their time in Gwenfo. They were each presented with a memory stick containing photographs\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Gwenfo Primary School"","block_context":{"text":"Gwenfo Primary School","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=58"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13787,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13787","url_meta":{"origin":7542,"position":4},"title":"St. Mary\u2019s Church News – October 2023","author":"Alan Williams","date":"4th November 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"0CTOBER REPORT It is a pleasure to report that the Village Show and the Picnic in the church grounds was a tremendous success. It brought together the village in support of St. Mary\u2019s building fund and raised a staggering amount of \u00a31500.12. Grateful thanks to Glenys and Mike Tucker and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "St Mary's Parish Church News"","block_context":{"text":"St Mary's Parish Church News","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15142,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=15142","url_meta":{"origin":7542,"position":5},"title":"Cwm Gynfig and St Athan","author":"Alan Williams","date":"7th February 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Cwm Gynfig near Margam Park January produced some icy weather, causing anxiety about the forecast of snow flurries or freezing rain after 4pm. We parked on a road south of the route to avoid driving on icy\/narrow country lanes. Although cold (layers were the order of the day) it was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Footsteps"","block_context":{"text":"Footsteps","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=38"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wenvoe.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Picture11.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7542"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7542"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7549,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7542\/revisions\/7549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}