Family days out at Dyffryn Gardens

Planning your family visit

Here’s the information you need at a glance to help plan your next day out at Dyffryn Gardens:

• Children under five visit for free.
• There are baby-changing facilities at regular intervals around the gardens as well as accessible toilet facilities.
• There are pram, wheelchair and mobility scooter-friendly routes and wheelchairs and a mobility scooter can be rented (free of charge) from the Welcome Centre.
• We have two log stack play areas.
• For safety reasons we can’t allow any kind of children’s bike, scooter or trike in the gardens unless it has a long handle on the back and is controlled by an adult at all times.
• Dogs are welcome so even the family pup can join in (please see here for information on visiting Dyffryn with your dog).
• The cafe serves children's lunchboxes and a range of hot and cold food and drinks, as well as treats for your four-legged family members.
• We also welcome picnics.

Summer visits

Enjoy the feeling of freedom that summer brings by coming on a family trip to Dyffryn and watch your little ones run, jump, play and go on endless adventures throughout the gardens – you might even get some of the not-so-little-ones involved too.

If you’re coming during the summer holidays there will be lots of activities to enjoy during our Dyffryn Gardens Games family event but there’s still plenty to do if you’re visiting during term time as well. Play hide and seek among the Garden Rooms or in the Arboretum; hop, skip, and jump from log to log in our two play areas or bring a frisbee or ball for a friendly game on the lawns.

Both the Gardens and Gallery Cafés are open every day during the summer holidays (during term time the Gardens Café is open every day and the Gallery Café is also open on weekends) so you can cooldown with cold drinks and ice creams or pick-up a kid’s lunch box.

This is the fourth year we'll have 'mini meadows' on the Great Lawn for little ones to run in and out of. One of the reasons we grow these meadows is to increase the diversity of pollinators, insects, birds and dragonflies. See how many butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies your little ones can spot and search for creepy crawlies in the hedges, grass, and bark chip.

Find out more information about the Dyffryn Gardens Games family event here.

May half-term and National Children’s Gardening Week

From 25 May – 2 June, join us for an activity-filled trail that will teach you and your little ones how to encourage wildlife in your own green spaces.

This brand new trail is full of hands-on, active games that encourage children to put themselves in nature’s shoes. Alongside each game is an example of how you can encourage local wildlife too. It’s all part of the National Children’s Gardening Week, which aims to help children discover the joy of gardening, plants and nature.

The trail is free (normal admission applies) and there’s no need to book. Simply head to the Welcome Centre when you arrive and the team will point you in the right direction.

Log Stack play areas

There are two Log Stack play areas at Dyffryn, one outside the pay barrier near the Welcome Centre and a larger one in the Arboretum. These wild play areas have plenty of space for youngsters to run, jump, explore and play.

Balance along enormous trees which were felled as part of the arboretum revival plan, jump from log to log along the stepping stones and have a picnic on hand carved picnic stumps.

The area is home to squirrels, birds and lots of creepy crawlies, so bring a magnifying glass or some binoculars and get spotting.

Even in between events, Dyffryn is a great option for a family day out. With every new season the gardens change and evolve so there is always something new to see.

We also have self-led seasonal trails to enjoy. Pick-up a trail leaflet at the Welcome Centre to be guided round the seasonal highlights of the gardens. Please see the Visit the gardens at Dyffryn page for more information on the current seasonal walk.

And with a café, shop and second-hand bookshop (with a great selection of children's and YA literature), there’s always plenty to do at Dyffryn Gardens. So whenever you choose to visit, you know that you and your family will make some lovely memories.