St Fagans National Museum of History

Although it looked a bit windy the forecast was for a dry day so we decided to make our way to St Fagans outdoor museum. Since it opened in1948, over 50 original historic buildings from all over Wales have been moved and rebuilt on this large rambling site and what a fantastic place it is. 

We laughed to find that we remembered many of the museum items, including the pottery flying ducks on the wall in the ‘prefab’ and some of the goods on display in the reconstructed shop, but fortunately not the outside, composting toilet. 

If I had a favourite place it was the clog maker’s workshop. Geraint is one of only two such makers left in the country and has been making clogs at St Fagans for some thirty years. He gave us chapter and verse on which type of wood to choose depending on what the clogs were going to be used for (sycamore is the best all rounder) and showed us the hand tools he uses for carving the shapes. I hope he transfers the skill to a younger person before it gets lost. 

Perhaps one of the most amazing exhibits is the working men’s institute transported stone by stone from near Caerphilly in the early 1990s. We sat and watched a film showing the deconstruction and reconstruction. The internal decor has been restored to how it would have been when it was first built - including a fabulous stained glass window. The  Vulcan pub next door is one of two buildings currently under reconstruction and restoration. 

By mid-afternoon I was tiring so we left the indoor galleries for another time and headed home… except I realised how close we were to the sea. So, we made a quick detour to Penarth where we took a slow stroll along the cliff top and let the wind ruffle our hair. 

By the time we got back to Llangattock the sofas were calling loudly.