Garwnant Visitor Centre

There are many trails and something for everyone here, the playground and sculptures along the river make it fun and engaging for little ones. For those looking for a longer walk, you can start around the visitor centre and wind down to the lake where you can make a complete loop around it, ending back at the main entrance.

We visited here two weeks ago as we were staying at the new forest holidays cabins on this site. The walks in the area are very beautiful and there are several routes that are also pushchair/wheelchair accessible while some are a bit challenging. The sculpture trail was especially lovely as it goes through some nice routes where you can see all of the mini waterfalls that have been naturally carved into the hills. I'm not sure why though, but in the valley area, you can see so many areas of woodland that have been cut down leaving just mud for the wildlife. See photos. Really not sure why so many trees have been destroyed in the area. Maybe for toilet paper.However the visitor centre itself could do with some work. While the staff were very friendly, the food was just awful. We had driven 4 hours to get here so we were starving on arrival and ordered a couple sandwiches. Firstly, 2 small (carton) milkshakes, 2 pieces of toast, 2 sandwiches, 2 coffees and a bowl of chips cost me £30. In comparison at my local pub I recently got 2 pints, a huge milkshake, a Fruit-shoot, chips and a pizza for £30. But you are paying for quality right? Wrong. I got myself a VLT (vegan take on a bacon, lettuce, tomato) as there were only a couple veggie options. What I got was some frozen vegan bites between two pieces of bread. No tomato, no lettuce and some weird pretend chicken thing instead of pretend bacon. Not even any butter or anything to stop the bread being dry. Confused? Me too. That student sandwich also cost me £7.50.In hindsight, I should have complained and asked for something else. I should have just had chips with the kids as they are just heated up so you can't go wrong. But I shovelled it anyway and had a walk until our cabin was ready.It should also be noted that the cabins are really far from the visitor centre. Which is fine if you like walking but not fun when you have small children :D So take a pushchair if you need to walk that. There is still a lot of work being down on the forest holidays bit so it's a bit like a building site in places and really muddy with builders in parked vans everywhere. They clearly raced to open it. Also if you are coming from the cabins by car and want to go to the visitor centre, you have to drive a long way round to the bottom of the hill and back up which is quite long. Just something to note. Overall lovely place but the visitors centre needs some work.

First time visiting and very impressed at this point can't wait to come back and update. Beautiful area and plenty of walks with various features alone the way. Nice cafe on site with amenities.

Nice little area to visit.Few nice short walks and if you want something a little further you can walk down and around the reservoir over the damn. It’s about 3.5 miles.The shorter walks near the centre and pleasant and there is a restaurant too. The centre also has a play area for children (7-15yr).The staff are friendly and knowledgable.The car park is pay and display and cash only on the machine that we used. Other machines were covered so not sure of card is an option. £2 for a car for the day.

Lovely forest area. You do pay for packing and it's card only. Dog friendly. Lots of areas to explore.

Had a wonderful time with the kids and better half. Choice of three trails to choose from depending on challenge wanting. Good coffee and food from on site cafe. Got to pick some raspberries from surrounding forest with the kids.

This park is ideal for families, there are sitting areas and a playground. They also have clean toilets. Entry fee is about 3 pounds.

We visit Garwnant regularly as it's just a stones throw away from where we live. This particular day was very wet, so a visit to the cafe to warm up and dry off was very welcome. The coffee was good, all be it a bit overpriced. The kids had some crisps and a drink.I'm not a fan of the parking fees, especially when coupled with the prices of the cafe, it can become an expensive walk around the woods with the kids. The bos loved the play areas. The shredded rubber flooring (for want of a better description) gave them a safe soft landing when climbing the frames and running around.The area is beautiful, and it's a decent area to get the kids out and about. A packed lunch will save you a few quid if you're looking for a cheap day out.

As the car park ticket enforcement is not operating yet? You save from £2 - 8 full day cost.The café is very accommodating friendly singing male staff member to the tune of Madona's 'material world'. There are toilets but don't be surprised in the female side one door has the necessary paper but door does'nt lock where as the other locks but has no paper. Little water falls cascade along the Taff trail. Taking an hour to walk half way around the reservoir & back.