A Family Day Out At Fonmon Castle

Looking to visit Fonmon Castle soon but not sure what’s actually there? Well, our fabulous guest blogger Chrissy J took a trip down there and thoroughly enjoyed her family day out. Chrissy also wrote a detailed blog so everyone else can discover how amazing Fonmon Castle really is!

About Fonmon Castle

Located in the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales, Fonmon Castle is a medieval castle built in the 13th century. Here you can uncover the deep history of medieval Wales and explore 340 acres of lush landscapes onsite – your kids will definitely enjoy burning off their wild energy here.

Chrissy J’s Family Day Out

We were super lucky to sneak in a visit to Fonmon Castle before flying out to Rhodes this week. We don’t visit Wales very often even though it’s actually right on our doorstep so it was really good to visit somewhere new.

Castles are one of my favourite places to visit, I love learning the history behind them and there is always so much to do and see – Fonmon Castle didn’t disappoint.

Medieval Farm & Market

Inside the Medieval farm area, we found Rhys who showed us how to milk a goat. His chickens were very interested in what we were doing, we also got to hold some very tiny baby bunnies (just a few weeks old!)

He also showed them how to feed the goats by hand with grass. Handwashing stations can be found by the farm for you to use after handling the animals.

Cistercian Monk’s Living Cell & The Painted Church

The kids were fascinated by the Monk’s living cell and the painted church. Especially reading about how the monks slept on bare wood with straw!

Dino Experience

Next, we headed down to the dinosaurs, Holly loved these lifesize models in the field. You can hardly see her standing next to the Diplodocus as he towers over her!

There is a very well-stocked dino-themed shop over here with a whole caged area of animatronic dinosaurs – Oscar wasn’t so keen on the Velociraptor making their calling noise. Holly was fascinated by the part eaten dinosaurs’ leg and head and wanted to know where the rest of it was.

They loved the little play areas dotted around the trail too.

Along the trail, you’ll find baby dinosaurs Gary & Sarah with their handlers Ranger Mikey and Ranger Grace. Sarah was happy to have selfies but I wasn’t keen on getting too close to Gary!

Story Trail

Following the story of Fon and Mon, you’ll discover how they saved the castle from the dragon!

The trail begins once you’ve passed under the fairy light tunnel. You’ll find the start of the storybook here guarded by 2 knights (Oscar was very excited about them!)

Each stop has a new page of the story (in English and Welsh) with an activity to take part in.

You’ll also meet Wizard John down in the woods where he looks after the fairies in their very own fairy garden village. Listen to his stories of how the garden began and why he has to look after them.

Mad Hatters Garden

The Mad Hatters Garden is just a small walk-through area at the end of the Story Trail that leads you back to the tearoom.

The Walled Gardens

The gardens are huge, with just so much going on, with grassy lawns, wildflowers, apple trees and even a vegetable garden.

You can even grab yourself a Fonmon Apple Juice made from apples from the orchard and a wildflower mix to grow your own wildflower garden from the hut by the main entrance/car park. Vicky and Kelly will be more than happy to tell you more about the origins and process of everything they sell here.

Dotted around the gardens are some lovely little ornaments, such as this wooden birdhouse, this highly accurate weather stone and a painted rhino.

There are lots of photo opportunities here with some beautiful archways and the castle building itself.

Bug Hunting at Fonmon Castle

Down a very steep hill, you’ll find the bug hunting area and home to Ranger Louise. On her viewing deck, you’ll find a small library of books, binoculars and a tank full of baby frogs and snails.

You can also book and collect your Disc Golf accessories here. It is £4.00 per person with £2.00 refunded when you return your items! The girls loved the hand puppet set too.

If you want (or need!) to rest your feet for 10 minutes, you could grab yourself a seat in the ranger station that overlooks the forest area and lake. Do take a minute to read the nature-related jokes on the wall, I won’t spoil them for you but they will make you smile…

The Pirates of Fonmon

Just beyond the bug hunt area, you’ll find the Pirates of the Fonmon area. You’ll find a play area here – Pirate themed of course!

With a climbing frame, mini boat and even a tug of war rope which kept them amused for ages trying to beat each other!

Play Areas

Along with the play areas I already mentioned, there are more! This sandy play area is located next to the Dino Dome and again has some picnic benches to the side.

Food & Drink at Fonmon Castle

There are a couple of choices for food at Fonmon Castle – The Dino Dome is the main restaurant on site, but you also have the fairground-style sweet stand and the Ice Cream stand!

The Dino Dome

In the middle of the Fonmon Castle grounds, you’ll find The Dino Dome which is home to 2 animatronic dinosaurs, a small ball pit, a sand pit and a large undercover seating area.

Each table has a QR code on it for you to scan, this will take you to the menu online. You can then order your food from the dino hut opposite the fuselage.

The menu has a good selection of meals including some healthier options. The Little Explorers children’s meal deals are a good price too – £7.00 for a main, a sweet and drink!

The portion sizes were really good – I think I probably could have had a children’s meal and it would have been plenty for me! The children’s meals also come in a dino-themed box with activities on the outside.

Fairground Stand

I couldn’t pass this stand without getting doughnuts. I love fresh doughnuts and the kids love Nutella so it was a win-win. They were £3.00 for 4 sugar ring doughnuts or £4.00 for 4 Nutella doughnuts.

The kids approved and I managed to get 2 before the kids ate them all! I also grabbed some sweet cones for later…

Lady Anne’s Tea room

At the end of the Fairy trail, you will find Lady Anne’s tea room. We left this to be our last stop of the day.

You can never have too much cake! So, even after the kids all had brownies with lunch, they still didn’t turn down more cake! You can also get alcohol (They do barefoot wine!) and ice cream here.

Picnic areas

If you do want to bring your own food along to Fonmon Castle, you won’t be short of somewhere to sit! Along with being able to eat inside the Dino Dome, you can also grab a table inside of the fuselage by the main entrance.

To the side of the Dino Dome is also a large outdoor seating area.

Would we recommend Fonmon Castle?

Well, can you believe even with all the things we did, we still didn’t manage to get around everything! You could easily spend a whole day here exploring all the different sections of the site!

We had such a great time and will definitely visit again. The staff are all so friendly and clearly enjoy their roles and they were all really knowledgeable about the castle (and dinosaurs!) and happy to tell you more and answer the kids’ questions.

ChrissyJ xxx

So, now you know everything fun and cool about Fonmon Castle, you want to come visit, right? Whether you bug hunt, explore the Fairy trail, spot dinosaurs or more – you and the family will have a fantastic family day out!

If you want to read more about Chrissy J and her family adventures, head on over to her website! She has lots of super blogs on some really cool places!

Looking for more things to do? Head to some dog-friendly beaches, visit some stunning lakes, shoot some arrows at some archery activities and putt a hole-in-one at some of the best mini-golf courses around!