Forest Farm and Melingriffith

Outdoor Cardiff / Parks in Cardiff / Forest Farm and Melingriffith

Located on the banks of the Taff just south of the M4 motorway, Forest Farm is full of surprises. Sections of the former Glamorganshire Canal still survive here and a wide range of habitats including woodland, scrub, hay meadow, ponds and marshland. The Taff Trail runs through the site and to the south is the restored Melingriffith Waterpump – a relic of the industrial past of the area.

Forest Farm Conservation Centre is home to the Council’s Community Park Ranger Service and acts as a hub site for environmental volunteering across the city’s parks and green spaces.

Features

Bird hides The site is one of the best places in the UK to see kingfishers in their natural habitat.
Conservation centre Look out for regular events in the Parks Events programme
Taff Trail to Cardiff City Centre and Castell Coch
Volunteering opportunities Regular site based workdays and conservation activities are run in association with Friends of Forest Farm . The Community Ranger Service also organises workdays for other organisations and individual volunteers.
Toilet facilities – There are no public toilets at Forest Farm, however toilets are available on event days
Wildlife Explorer Trail: for children (leaflet download)
Glamorganshire Canal Local Nature reserve The sections of canal seen at Forest farm are the only parts of the 1790 Glamorganshire Canal that still exist. Watch out for mallards, moorhens, coots, kingfishers and dragonflies.
Longwood Site of Special Scientific Interest one of the most westerly beechwoods in the UK.
Melingriffith Waterpump Installed in the 1790s, this lifted water from the tail race leaving the Melingriffith Tin Works into the Glamorganshire Canal.

Facilities

Bird hides
Conservation centre Look out for regular events in the Parks Events programme
Taff Trail to Cardiff City Centre and Castell Coch
Volunteering opportunities The Friends of Forest Farm organise workdays and conservation activities
Toilet facilities – Available for events.

Visiting

Visit the ‘Wild about Cardiff ’ Facebook page for up to date information about local wildlife and Community Ranger activities at Forest Farm and across Cardiff.

The Friends of Forest Farm website provides information about their activity programme.

The park is open to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

How to find us
Access point	GPS (latitude / longitude)
Forest Farm Conservation Centre	51.517286, -3.243540
Melingriffith Waterpump	51.512100, -3.237635