Country Parks
There are two Country Parks in the Vale of Glamorgan, found on
the outskirts of the urban areas of Barry and Penarth.
Porthkerry and
Cosmeston Lakes
Country Parks allow visitors the opportunity to enjoy the
countryside in an informal setting. They offer over 200 hectares of
woodlands, meadows and beaches for you to explore and provide a
range of facilities including car parking and toilets.
Facilities Overview
Cosmeston Lakes Country Park: Medieval Village, visitor centre,
parking, toilets, caf, picnic facilities, lake, way marked walks,
nature trail, sculpture trail, orienteering, education service,
childrens play area and ranger service.
Porthkerry Country Park: Cafe, parking, pitch and putt, picnic
facilities, barbecues, open space, way marked walks, pebble beach,
childrens play area and ranger service.
What is a Country Park?
In 1968, the Countryside Act gave local authorities power to
provide country parks. A Country Park is an area designated for
people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment.
It is somewhere for visitors who do not necessarily want to go out
into the wider countryside. Visitors can enjoy a public open space
with an informal atmosphere, rather than the formal parks often
found in towns. For this reason country parks are usually found
close to or on the edge of built-up areas, and rarely in the more
remote countryside.
A country park usually has some more formal facilities, such as
a car park, toilets, maybe a cafe or kiosk, paths and trails, and
some information for visitors. Some have much more, with museums,
visitor centres, educational facilities, historic buildings, farms
and all sorts of things.
There are about 250 recognised Country Parks in England and
Wales. Local authorities manage most, although other organisations
and private individuals can also run them.
There is not necessarily any public right of access to Country
Parks, and visitors are usually subject to by-laws when they enter
the park.
These parks vary tremendously from one to another, and really
have only their purpose in common: to provide easy access to the
countryside for those living in the towns and suburbs.