The building in the foreground is a pig sty! The Museum of Welsh Life St Fagans
Just outside Cardiff, the little town of St Fagans is pretty and ancient enough to be a museum in its own right. A gorgeous old church and a collection of thatched cottages nestle in the unspoiled green valley. A little further along the road, a lane, really, is the Museum of Welsh Life AKA Wales National History Museum. I’d never, ever, visited, it’s been there forever ( over 50 years), but for some reason I’d never wanted to go.
Having kids, particularly kids that you’re trying to educate, changes everything and you end up going to places you would never have considered in your younger, cooler days.
As The Doctor said: “Cool is uncool!”
St Fagans was fabulous! We had a great time, not just because of the exhibits, but because we could roam around some beautiful Welsh countryside checking out the wildlife and the kids could run some of their energy off fairly safely. Give or take some mud. It’s not just a museum, it’s a lovely spot for a walk, we’re going again.
All museums in Wales are free so if you’re in this part of the UK, try to get to St Fagans, no excuses, it’s cool!
The magnificent 16th Century St Fagans castle is at the heart of the museum. The building and grounds were donated to the people of Wales by the Earl of Plymouth. That was nice of him!
You can explore the beautiful castle, it’s grounds and gardens to see how the other half lived back in the day and when you’re done with the aristocracy you can move on to take a peek into simple people’s lives in Wales.
They have moved over forty original buildings and re-built in the grounds of St Fagan’s castle. They’re well spread out, you feel like yo’re taking a walk in the country, not touring a museum. Most of them hold furniture and appliances typical of their era.
We loved this slate miner’s cottage from North Wales, it was home to 10 people. The parents, their six children, the maid and a lodger. A guide kept a gorgeous coal fire blazing inside and could answer all our questions, in English and Welsh.
Slate roofs and thatched roofs, so very Welsh!
The original dove cote that belonged to the castle is still home to dozens of white doves. They used to be kept for food.
I had one of these in the garden when I was a kid. A garden from a Welsh cottage last century.
There are grocers, ironmongers, a post office and a bakery. It’s strange how familiar a lot of the exhibits were to me, memories of my childhood.
This place is very similar to Herberton Historic Village, back home in Queensland, another collection of old buildings and articles that’s well worth a visit ( post coming!) unfortunately you have to pay for Herberton, I believe it’s privately owned, St Fagans is funded by the Welsh government and the Heritage Lottery.
Plenty of Welsh coal fires to warm frozen gingers.
This was a purpose built cock fighting pit. I’ve never seen anything like that before!
There are animals too! Traditional Welsh breeds. These Welsh black cattle were the only ones out braving the cold when we visited, they were gorgeous!
It’s wonderful for me, that even though we’re “home” we’re still learning, travelling and experiencing new things. It’s taken me a very long absence to appreciate what a magnificent country Wales is. I love it, come visit!
