Natural Play

Spending time in contact with nature is essential for wellbeing, and it’s something you’ll do automatically when you take a break in the rural landscape of Monmouthshire.

There is a multitude of green and blue spaces to enjoy: nature reserves, woodlands, mountains, wetlands and rivers. Discover a place where you can escape, meet friends, exercise or simply enjoy peace and quiet. Wear the right clothes for the time of year, and you’ll appreciate the variety of beauty as the seasons change.

Green Flag Sites in Monmouthshire

We’re proud of the green spaces that boast a Green Flag Award in recognition of their welcome to visitors and their environmental management. The most recent to achieve a green flag is the 'Mon & Brec', which is considered by many to be the UK’s most picturesque canal. Don’t miss the seasonal colours of Goytre Hall Wood, close to the waterway – a carpet of bluebells in spring, pleasant green shade in the summer, and beautiful reds and gold in autumn. It’s also the starting point of a circular walk which follows a stretch of the canal.

(Autumn on the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal - Crown Copyright)

The family-friendly Old Station Tintern alongside the River Wye has held the Green Flag Award for 14 years! Other award holders are Caldicot Castle Country Park, which puts on a spectacular natural display in the autumn, and Castle Meadows alongside the River Usk, which offer wildlife watching opportunities just a few minutes from Abergavenny’s bustling high street. Adjacent to Castle Meadows is Laurie Jones Community Orchard where, as the sign on their gate says, you’re kindly requested to ‘pick in small amounts and leave plenty for others’.

Outdoor play areas across Monmouthshire

If you’re looking for outdoor playgrounds and space for kids to run around in while you’re in Monmouthshire, you won’t have to go far.

Abergavenny

(Playing at Abergavenny Castle during the Abergavenny Food Festival)

Families enjoy three green spaces near the town centre. Bailey Park has a colourful kids’ playground, adult exercise equipment and a path around its perimeter where young ones like to ride their bikes. The grounds of Abergavenny Castle, with grassed areas and benches, are the ideal sandwich stop. At Linda Vista Gardens there’s a café (Ambika Social), playground and toilets, and kids love hunting for bugs and collecting leaves under the fine specimen trees. In the warmer weather, you’ll find families enjoying outdoor yoga classes and storytelling for kids.

Caldicot

(Caldicot Castle and Country Park)

Just a short walk from the town centre is King George V Playing Fields, where kids play ball games, run around on the grass and have fun in the play area. Energetic adults make the most of the adult exercise equipment, before everyone takes a breather at the picnic benches.

Caldicot Castle's Green Flag winning Country Park has over 50 acres of park, woodland, ponds and streams to enjoy.

Monmouth

Kids love the wooden climbing frames, swings and roundabouts at Chippenham Play Area, just off Blestium Street, with several car parks nearby. It’s set in the vast Chippenham Fields with tree-lined paths and plenty of green space for kids to run around. Cafés and shops are just a short walk away in Monnow Street.

Tintern

There’s no chance of boredom on the zip wire and play equipment at the Old Station. Ask for a family activity pack when you get there; it’s full of ideas to help you explore the site and to continue having fun when you get home.

Usk

Usk Park has colourful swings, slides and climbing frames for all ages, mingled with picnic benches. Park for free in the adjacent Maryport Street South car park, and wander into town for a snack.

Wild play in Monmouthshire

While playgrounds with swings, roundabouts and slides are fun, the natural world can be the best playground of all. Get some ideas and inspiration for things to do outside with young ones! Head to Llandegfedd Lake to watch the ducks and follow a walking trail. Join like-minded families at Wild Tots Abergavenny, and ignite your child’s curiosity about the natural world. Sessions take place outdoors throughout the seasons, so dress appropriately!

Treat the kids to a weekend absorbed in the outdoor world – go glamping. Bring your own tent or campervan to Highlands Holidays for a back-to-nature experience on a smallholding. Watch the animals, play on the rope swing, explore the forest trails, toast marshmallows on the firepit, and listen to the owls hooting. They also have a cottage in the apple orchard, if you’d rather sleep in a bed! A weekend at Old-Lands, near Monmouth, gives you access to a family estate which is run on green principles, complete with honesty shop selling local produce. There are geocaches to find, and endless trees, plants and insects to identify. The estate map shows you where to go exploring, and, since it resembles a pirate map, kids love to colour it in! 

Find out more about the wildlife which make Monmouthshire their home.