Bryngarw Country Park

Bryngarw Country Park is made up of 48 hectares (120 acres) and is situated on the west bank of the Afon Garw, at the mouth of the Garw Valley in the Bridgend County Borough, Wales.

The western boundary is marked by the Brynmenyn-Bettws road and the River Garw is its eastern boundary. 18 hectares of open meadowlands, which are the subject of grazing tenancy agreements and hence not open to the public, surrounds the Country Park. The Country Park and Bryngarw House occupies the remaining 30 hectares of the estate. Bryngarw House and its associated formal gardens (including the lawn, shrubbery, lake and oriental gardens) account for 1.5 hectares of the park. The rest of the park is predominantly wooded (broadleaf, coniferous and mixed woodland) with areas of meadow, wetland and freshwater, formal garden and areas for amenity use.

Bryngarw Country Park's mission statement is “Through the provision and maintenance of a mosaic of habitats, rich natural environments and historic formal gardens, with targeted access and interpretation; to provide a ‘Bridge’ for visitors, linking people and nature, past and present, urban and countryside, heritage and natural history And so to give access to the full range of physical, mental and social health benefits which that connection brings.” The park appears to be achieving this as it currently receives between 50,000 and 70,000 visitors per year; with visits made by local schools for educational and interpretative sessions run by the ranger team contributing between 1,500 and 2,000 children a year.” In addition to school visits, the ranger team provide a range of other interpretive events aimed at the general public.

In 2010, the park won its first Green Flag award for providing outstanding levels of conservation, preservation, sustainability and provision of public amenities and services. The park has again been deemed worthy of this prestigious award in 2011.

Bryngarw Park is a Grade II listed Historic Park and Garden with the house being a Grade II listed building and lies within the Strategic Coalfield Plateau, Landscape Conservation Area, described in local legislation (Ogwr Borough Local Plan and emerging Urban Development Plan). This designation refers to the wooded, gently sloping agricultural and parkland landscape that characterises the park. In 2010, the park was designated as a Key Strategic Site under the Valleys Partnership Initiative Action Programme and is subsequently receiving funding from the Wales Assembly Government (WAG) Environmental Improvement Grant and Bridgend County Borough Council's Strategic Regeneration Fund. The park has also been awarded grant money from ‘One Historic Garden’ Centre of Excellence Scheme and has been designated one of eight ‘Visit Wales Sustainable Tourism, Historic Gardens Centre of Excellence’ sites. This money from both funds will be used in autumn of 2011 to update and expand the existing visitor centre, refurbish the café and toilets, improve the existing car park and to significantly enhance the oriental gardens

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