The 12 best parks and gardens in Merthyr Tydfil

Beautiful park, castle and grounds. Play area for the children and even a miniture train which we were lucky enough to ride as the weather was fantastic. Recommended a visit!

Lovely park. Good to walk around. Mini railway £2 a go for little ones. Splash park and café, tennis courts, ice cream, museum and lake. Toilets and free parking. Dogs welcome. We had fun feeding the ducks.

Nice for walking but museum and lake not to clever as it once was.

I adore how serene this place is.

What a lovely place to explore with the kids and tire them out for a relaxing evening , no need for a flask of coffee as there's a cafe on site along with toilets if you drink to much , a great little park for them to play in aswell and don't forget some bread for the ducks and there's plenty of parking

It's a beautiful place, stunning grounds, forestry, Castle/Museum, kid's splash park, golf course, tennis court, five a side football court, lake with carp, geese, ducks, and swan's. Highly recommended visit.

Great little lake, picnic, walks and a model railway ride.

Had a great trip on the Brecon Mountain Railway, the views were really spectacular, with plenty of opportunities to take some stunning photos. It was our second visit, having been last year too and we were just as excited this time. My husband is a retired railway engineer so it was right up his street. We decided to treat ourselves to a cream tea in their cafe this time and it was delicious, you do have to pre book this though. As well as the lovely cafe, there is a shop to explore with many train related items and souvenirs to purchase. You can also take a look in the train shed too which has various engines and parts stripped down being worked on. I would highly recommend a day out here and more than likely we will be back to enjoy again in the future!

A lovely morning trip on this historic steam train 🚂 Lovely large windows and beautiful wooden curved slatted seats. They were comfy too. Nice to be on a proper old steam train. I live about 40 minutes away from here. Don’t know why I haven’t visited before! The information commentary given to us during the journey could have been louder. We only caught bits of the info whilst straining our ears. Steve, the guard I think he was, was a lovely guy. Helpful, knowledgeable and humerus. A great asset to the team. All the staff are polite and helpful. Good views during the journey. Back at the station at Pant we had a fabulous Afternoon Tea. Absolutely super! I would recommend this train 🚂 trip and the tea to everyone.

It was a phenomenal ride! Loved the atmosphere at the station, staff was great, trains are amazing and looked after with lots of love and care. I enjoyed the workshop and standing on the outside on a moving train the most! Oh and chocolate cake was just brilliant! Definitely recommend and will come back 😊

My parents and I had an incredible experience at Brecon Mountain Railway yesterday. We had two afternoon teas which were outstanding - the presentation, taste of everything and amount of food! The staff were all wonderful and couldn't have helped any more than they did. My father is disabled and he was looked after so well, both in the cafe and also on the train. There is also a lovely little gift shop with something for everyone! The train journey is a brilliant experience and the scenery is spectacular. I couldn't recommend it enough to anyone who wants to visit. We live locally and we honestly felt like we were on holiday! Thank you again!

A must do if in the area. Kids(4yrM & 2yrF) loved it especially since there was a play area at the last stop before return journey. Amazing views with commentary. Very enthusiastic hosts and workers. Definitely recommend. Gift shop not to be missed - my son loved the train whistle and v bought several for his friends as well.

Easy parking, plenty of space. Toilets good. Cafe good, we bought take away cups of tea which we took on our journey. Lovely train, carriages have big windows so plenty of space to see the beautiful views wherever you sit. Friendly staff, with some commentary of the sights to look out for. 35minute stop on the way back to admire the views and get drinks and ice cream! Loved the gift shop! Love trip, really enjoyed it!

Would recommend to all adults and children. What a wonderful experience to ride on a stream train in the beautiful Welsh countryside. Two stops including one by the reservoir where you could enjoy a drink and snack from the cafe and let the children play at the playground. Great family day out! Blue light card discount when you ring up.

Can't rate this place highly enough. Great facilities.staff are friendly and the whole atmosphere of the place is great. Trails are well looked after and the uplift crews are always helpful. The cafe had a good variety of food and drinks for everyone. The bike repair shop could not have been any more helpful and service was fast and quality. Many thanks .

Excellent place. Best day on a bike I've had. Rode most of the blue and red trails and a couple of blacks. We did something like 22mi of descending in 1 day! Nowhere except a bike can you do that! Really good place to go and would highly recommend to anyone of any ability who likes mountain biking. Has a big reputation to live up to and it certainly does.

My partner and I had an incredible two days at Bike Park Wales last week and can't wait to come back when we next can. Day 1 we got through all of the "flow" Blue Trails and had a blast. We rode up the Beast of Burden and did the "Steep EBike Climb". Day 2 we thought long and hard about our Day 1 life choices as our thighs were SCREAMING! However, we had a few hours of private tuition session with Head Coach Griff Morgan. The "uplift" was included for the day in the tuition package and we IMPLORE YOU FOR THE LOVE OF WHOEVER YOU PRAY TO ***BUY THE UPLIFT TICKET***!!!!!! You are welcome. Our session with Griff was fantastic. We both have different strengths and weaknesses and ability in terms of biking and we could have done with separate lessons. However, Griff did an outstanding job of tailoring his tuition and knowledge so that we both got the most out of our time with him. He's also a thoroughly lovely chap to spend time with and was very professional when I sent myself A over T in slow motion by testing my brakes a bit too enthusiastically... During our 2 day visit we sampled the food and drink on offer. I can genuinely say the coffee is excellent. We also enjoyed a Breakfast Bap, a vegetarian breakfast wrap, a Chilli Con Carne Jacket Potato, the BPW Burger, the hot dog with the pulled pork on and a Pepperoni pizza and a meaty pizza as well as some of the bottled and draft Popty Ping Lager. Everything was delicious and generous in portion size. We also made use of the free e-bike chargers - thanks BPW!! All of the staff we met and spoke to were a credit to BPW. All friendly and helpful and engaged in their work which was lovely to see. Looking forward to when we can next drive up from Essex to stay so we can visit BPW again.

Great trails bit of a queue checking in but no queues for the uplift got 9 laps in definitely worth the £50. Definitely would recommend to any level of rider. Had a crash but all good other than my phone and helmet.

A Brilliant Introduction to Mountain Biking – Huge Thanks to Colin! I’ve just completed the beginner course at Bike Park Wales for the second time, and once again, it was absolutely brilliant. We originally completed the course 3or 4 years ago and we’ve been eagerly awaiting my friend’s daughter’s birthday so she could finally join the experience – you need to be over 10 to participate. She is a particularly confident person so was ok at this age. The course itself is a fantastic introduction to mountain biking, including full bike and equipment hire, a guided tour, and two exhilarating runs down the green trail ‘Kermit’. At around 5km, Kermit is well designed – flowing, fun, and confidence-building with features like banked corners, gentle rollers, and small descents that give a taste of everything the sport has to offer. The whole operation at Bike Park Wales is professional. Reception staff were friendly and helpful, parking was simple, and all the equipment provided was clean and well-maintained. I had a Trek Roscoe Hardtail for the day – a solid bike that was perfect for the course. A special shout-out goes to our guide, Colin, who made the day. This was actually the second time I’ve had Colin as a guide – the first being three years ago – and I was so pleased to see he’s still as brilliant as ever. He’s incredibly patient, encouraging, and attentive to everyone’s needs, no matter their confidence level or ability. He was especially great with my friend’s daughter, helping her settle in and build her confidence from the start. Colin is a true ambassador for Bike Park Wales and for mountain biking in general. The atmosphere across the park is warm and welcoming. I come from a skiing background, and the vibe at base camp really reminded me of that – friendly, inclusive, and buzzing with energy. It’s a place that could seem intimidating from the outside, but the team make it accessible to everyone, and you quickly feel at home. Personally, I’ve been working my way back to health after a difficult period, and this experience really boosted my confidence. Mountain biking is definitely a physical sport and does require a basic level of fitness, but the uplift service makes it manageable, even for those not at peak fitness. All in all, it was a brilliant day, great value for money, and an ideal way to get into the sport, whether you’re a complete beginner or just looking to get back into riding.

Ok, first the good points! Very good set-up, great visitor area, uplift queues werent bad at all considering there were 500ish riders... I think they said they had 15 vehicles running, so very quick, tracks were many and varied! Bad points, 3! Now these are my own little gripes that you may feel are stupid and not bother you at all! 1st, not massively steep, but I still had plenty of fun 2nd, more bike wash stations, and make them free! We've already paid you 56 quid, surely you can give us a 50p wash included via a token system or something when you sign in! 3rd, parking... now this is a little controversial, because if you get there early, parking may not be an issue... we arrived around 9am and almost had to park on the roundabout where the entrance is, actually, there were 2 cars on the verge when we left. The road in and out is also a single track fire road basically but with the added feature of parked vehicles from top to bottom... you'll see if you go!!!! Overall good days riding, just those little niggles for me!

Had a great time at Bikepark Wales. From the start check in was super easy, and the uplift was easy and efficient, the maximum time we were waiting for it was about 4 minutes is great compared to other bike trail centres. Trails built really well, warmed up on blues, mostly rode red and 2 black trails and gave The Martian a go (but it was probably out my skill level). The trails are built super well and drain really well. It rained the day before and light rain for about an hour and trails were in super good condition. Although the board by the uplift said trails in good condition there were some people going around saying the be super careful as trails were slippery even though they werent which i thought was a bit weird. Online booking was bit difficult too. If you want to max out your time on the trails, bring a packed lunch and skip the cafe as it us super busy. Very good time!

We reached out to Jordan at the last minute when the site we had originally booked let us down in every possible way. Despite our late arrival (entirely my own fault!), Jordan came out to greet us with a warm smile and genuine kindness. Nothing seemed too much trouble for him. The showers were spotless and perfectly warm, and the location was pure bliss — peaceful, rural, and surrounded by nature. That night, we fell asleep to the gentle calls of owls and the soothing sounds of the countryside. What began as a stressful day ended with calm, comfort, and a beautiful reminder of how much difference a welcoming host can make.

I've visited many, many campsites and this one is by far the worst! This campsite is not maintained at all. There's tall grass everywhere. Showere aren't very clean, and there's nowhere to put your shower gell, but at least there was warm water. Toilets are horrible. There are no toilet lids, so when you flush all the bacteria and the dirty water goes back onto the seat. Some door locks dont even work, so you're unable to lock your door, and there's no hot water. If you're looking for a quiet campsite, this isn't that. There is a notice on the website stating "no noise after 10.30" but people can be quite loud still, and kids use flashlights to flash at other people's tents. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. This place is not worth the money and the headache that comes with it.

Thanks to Jordan and family who found space for us after a booking an awful alternative locally. Great wild camping spot for our van by a stream with a firepit area setup for us. Flatter spots with electric available and a short walk to toilets and little kids play area. Good camping field on the same site with lovely views over the valley below. Excellent sheep as well! Awesome location for Bike Park Wales. 15 mins drive.

A very well maintained campsite with attractive gardens and excellent facilities. Toilets, showers, fresh water, grey water disposal and chemical toilet disposal are all there. A laundry with a washer and dryer (3 pounds and 1 pound respectively) let you do your washing. There are separate fields for powered sites and tent pitches. The owners are extremely helpful and friendly. This makes an excellent base for exploring the Brecon Beacons. It’s also a short drive to Merthyr Tydfil which has abundant shops and restaurants. Various delivery services will deliver take-away food to the campsite.

I’ve stayed here before and had no problems, but this time was a nightmare. The staff were unreasonably strict and rude about my two small dogs, even though they caused no disturbance and the site was nearly empty. I felt targeted and unwelcome — possibly because I’m not local. I had to leave late at night and camp elsewhere in uncomfortable conditions. Extremely disappointing and stressful. I won’t be returning.

Last min booking over the phone the guy was super helpful sorted everything for us as we couldn’t book online . just wanted basic camping and that’s what we got the showers were clean tidy and warm site was nice and clean with excellent views overall decent place to go if you don’t want any extra frills they do electric but again we didn’t need it so can’t say about it.

Perfect place to get to bike park Wales quickly. Amenities were adequate and included showers and paid washing machines.

Fantastic camper van pitch at the Roost. Private bathroom and outdoor kitchen facilities were just right, and the location is ideal for a day’s riding at Bike Park Wales. We WILL be back.

Absolutely amazing place. We spend two nights with kids. They love double bunk beds, fireplace in the evening, little shop too 😁👍 stunning Mountain View’s straight from the cabin. Very clean cabin and showers, looks like everything new. Highly recommend for family, couples or friends. Owners very friendly.

I stayed here with my son for 3 nights while visiting Bike Park Wales. It was a lovely place to stay. Comfortable cabin with a private shower and camp kitchen (both separate to the cabin). The site is peaceful with lots of foliage, and is secure for bikes. There’s a bit of road noise during the day but that’s not the end of the world. It’s about 15 mins by bike to BPW. We never met Kath, but she was in touch by text around arrival and departure, and was very friendly.

Great little place to stay, clean and tidy, with lovely little areas to sit and relax after a day of riding. Only a short ride to Bike Park Wales, with great facilities for cleaning bikes. Pizza oven was great, and made short work of a couple of pizzas I picked up, just remember to bring matches, though I have recommended they be added to the little 'shop'. Owners are really helpful and accommodating, and made the whole process very simple. Thanks so much.

Stayed at this wonderful hidden gem for a couple of nights in the camper van (with hook-up) after Bike Park Wales and for a day out in the Brecon Beacons. The great facilities were perfectly clean and ready for my use (designated kitchen and bathroom). The bike wash with supplies was a lovely touch. Will definitely be back. Thanks.

Perfect location for us visiting Bike Park Wales. Great kitchen area and toilet/shower allocated for your cabin. Made very welcome at local pubs too. Great stay in a lovely location - thank you!

Great site tucked away and 5 min drive from Bike Park Wales. Easy to book and great comms via WhatsApp. Comfortable bunk beds with well equipped separate allocated kitchen and shower room. Just what's needed at the end of a long day on the trails. Great VFM.

Lake is a lovely clean area of Treharris. There is ample parking and a little spot to get drinking chocolate or tea and some food for the ducks. You will see plenty of dog walkers, fishers, kiddos feeding the birds and cyclists too. It’s great to go for a run or a stroll. There is such a lot of wildlife to see, and the colours are wonderful in the autumn time.

It is a lovely park to walk in with a variety of sites. The birds are plentiful. The reed cleansing ponds are fascinating. Certainly worth a visit.

We go regular. Turning to the park is easily passed so keep a sharp eye out. Gorgeous gentle walk around both lakes. Cafe with very friendly staff. Lots of information boards about trees and birds and the mine. If you want a more vigorous walk there are plenty to choose from

Great place to walk your dog on a Sunday not too busy don't really have to play dodge cyclists which is nice . There is a small cafe there where you can buy tea coffee and best tasting cheese burgers lol but it will be closed soon till the council find a new person to run it. So good chance on Feb 2017 there won't be anyone there which is a shame.

Lovely walk around the lake and cascades. There's free parking and the guy in the little tea hut by the lake was really nice, friendly and helpful. Even though it was a bit rainy and cold when I went I enjoyed this gem of a place.

Out standing , hidden Lakes in the valleys

Lovely place to take the kids, really enjoyed

An absolute beauty of a park, what a hidden gem. It would make a fantastic events and wedding venue. Would love to see a cafe or snack shack, more litter bins and additional play equipment to the paddling pool and swings area. The toilets need to be open. The kids still loved playing here, including hide and seek. Great for picnics. Massive football and rugby pitches.

A small but very enjoyable walk around Treharris park. Lovely wood carvings dotted around the park. The rhododendrons were stunning. A great little find. Dogs welcome but must be under control.

Nice place the walk the dogs and wear the kids out exploring, the playground is currently under construction but shouldn't be long

Lovely park lots of new features

Amazing new artwork trail with pieces carved by an artist Chris Wood - well worth checking out his other amazing work woodartworks.co.uk

Beautiful park with a blend of ancient, natural forest mixed with new and managed plants and flowerbeds. For a small park it has a good number of features, including a bandstand and a paddling pool. There are streams and a waterfall, and nice wood carvings dotted around the path. Shame there's dogs mess everywhere along the paths. Otherwise, it's good place to bring young kids to kill an hour or so. There are a couple of swings, a small slide and some new/modern outdoor instruments for the little ones to bang away at. Weird that most of the good stuff is outside of the play area fencing.

It was a nice, very hilly park with steep hills to climb. We enjoyed the wood carvings and plenty of seats to sit down. But for someone who hasn’t been there before we didn’t know that there was a small car in the park, as there was no sign to say car park this way. I stopped the gardeners van and asked. So we drove through the gates and then we were still lost finding the car park. So I had to ask again which road to take. It’s very confusing for new comers. Maybe try and make it a bit more friendly with sign posts pointing the way as it was up the top way at the back. All the workers there were very friendly and helpful though.

Such friendly hosts, nothing was too much trouble. Plenty of beds and space. Would definitely recommend a visit!

There were 18 of us in Jan 2023 - all there to hike for a weekend. The bunkhouse is one of the best I've stayed in and I've stayed in at least 50 in the UK. Excellent kitchen facilities...amazing six hob cooker and wonderful oven. Plenty of plates, cups, glasses, cutlery. Newly renovated throughout. Lots of sockets for plug in. Nice, welcoming touches throughout e.g. pictures, vases, diffusers. Good sitting space, with additional outside room with fire. Good utility and boot room. And beautiful smelling hand soap. Staff were responsive to our requests. I look forward to staying again in summer. My advice: more hooks in bedrooms / bathrooms. A small shelf for each bunk. Mixer tap in kitchen would be good. A few more large pans. And serving spoons. But overall, loved staying there and will stay again and recommend.

Lovely place. There are really nice pla es to visit around there. The accommodation was modern with all of the every day needs.

Great facilities with a huge amount of space. Very welcoming and definitely the best experience I have had throughout my time of travelling. It was the first holiday I had away from family and it was full of fun, laughter and the best memories. It was used for The Prince's Trust course for myself but is great if wanted to use for stag or hen parties. Cooking equipment provided. A lovely garden and a lovely set of grounds. A great place to go walking nearby too. Couldn't fault this place at all. I would thoroughly recommend this bunkhouse to many and one day I look forward to visiting again.

Wonderful location. Clean and spacious. Would recommend highly

Bunkhouse in Brecon sleeps over 20 people comfortably. Full kitchen, with utensils, plates and cutlery to cater for 20+ people and accompanying washing facilities. Nice outdoor space to enjoy and indoor seating area. Large party, stag, hen friendly - I’ve organised 1 stag party there, attended another and my wife organised a hen party there. Brilliantly situated for outdoor activities - canyoning, mountain biking, surfing, walking, distillery tours. Has downstairs bedrooms and toilet/shower room with disabled access. Owners are very accommodating and really nice.

A great hostel well done. Returned exactly 2 years later and still excellent. Friendly and helpful farmer proprietor next door, well equipped, hot and quite comfortable. Highly recommended.

Popular Country Park with a Reservoir, Lakes, Walking Trails, Accommodation, a Coffee Shop, Cycle Tracks and a Riding School is nearby. There are also sites for Camping, Caravans, Campers and Motor Homes. Something for everyone. There's plenty of parking too. Dogs must be on leads when it is lambing season and sheep are loose in the Park.

Amazing camping site! Allows BBQ and Fire pits. Has great walks and visitors centre

Lovely walks but very badly signposted. Had to find our own way back think they all need updating. Especially the colours on the posts

Beautiful place in gorgeous surroundings and the cafe food was delicious, thank you!

I love this place, easy to walk as a disabled person. Parking close the amenities of you need to drive. Cafe serves nice food although can be a little pricey if you want a warm meal. There is a pump track for bikes, an amazing park and lakes to walk around. Only issues are people with dogs off the lead although this is discouraged via signs and on busy days a lot of cars - so watch your kids and animals

Lovely place to stay and walk or cycle round. There is a playground for the kids and the toilets were spotless. Good place to spend a week end.

Love the place 🙌 my back yard

Nice, quiet, relatively clean. Quite a natural feel to the park with large old trees dotted around and the odd mushroom patch here and there. The sensory garden is lovely and carries a good odour as you walk through and enjoy the bees buzzing from flower to flower. A playground is also within the grounds for little ones. It's an older playground with the legacy multiple-gate fencing but the apperatus is in good working order. Unfortunately there are no accessible swings or anything really for wheelchair users.

Lovely little park