There’s not many people who could say to their friends ‘do you want to come back to mine to see my penguins’?” “My sister, Amanda, who is two years younger than me, also had her own responsibilities and from 12 onwards my friends would become involved. “When I was 12, it was up to me to look after the marmosets and Tamarins, including the Golden Lion Tamarins, which are on the endangered list. I was given responsibilities beyond what was usual for children of my age. Any time I was not in school I would be there. “I spent all my weekends and school holidays in the park. “It was an incredible upbringing,” said Jon. In the following years, the family began to take-on other animals and whilst other children his age spent evenings and weekends doing their homework or playing out in the street, Jon spent his looking after monkeys. The Wildlife Park had an alpine slide - here's the remains of the ticket booth there, 2013 (Image: James Davies Photography) “He would show them around, but it started happening more and more, so he decided he would open it up for a few days to raise money for charity, and my grandmother Mair would bake apple tarts for the visitors.” Then what started happening was my grandfather would come home from work, and there would be people waiting at the gate, asking if they could come in to have a look at his birds. "It took my grandfather a few years to persuade her, and it was in the mid-sixties that they eventually moved there. “My grandmother never wanted to move,” Jon Quant told us previously. Want the latest Neath Port Talbot news straight to your inbox? We send our email subscribers a newsletter twice per week with the latest news from the region. Eventually, the family named the house and gardens Penscynor Bird Gardens and began allowing members of the public to visit. Welshman Jon Quant had spent years revitalising the wildlife park, which began as a private collection of birds that Mr Quant's grandfather Idris Hale had first put together.Īs the collection began to increase, they looked to take on more land- so when the semi-derelict Penscynor House and its 12 acres of land went up for sale in Cilfrew in the Neath valley, Idris bought it so he'd have somewhere to keep his birds and aviaries. The demise of the venue, which had been a staple location for school trips year-after-year, was hugely felt by people across Wales but none more so than its devastated owner. But over the course of almost three decades, Penscynor Wildlife Park welcomed huge crowds keen to feast their eyes on a variety of animals - from snakes to sea-lions, meerkats to monkeys, as well as penguins without ever having to leave the region.Īt the height of its popularity, it would attract some 250,000 visitors a year and drew people from across south Wales and beyond from its opening in 1971 right up until its closure in 1998. Get the latest Flash Player or Watch this video on YouTube.It's hard to believe that a plot of boggy land that's now home to graffitied walls, dilapidated enclosures and roofless buildings once housed one of Wales' most popular tourist attractions. The Adobe Flash Player is required for video playback.
If there is a Lawn Fawn set of stamps or dies that you’re desperately craving, just let me know, as I am happy to order them in for you!
You can find a whole bunch of these goodies in the shop, especially the ones in green (just click them to find them). White areas & ears on Fox, Deer & Bear: RV000 (ears), W00, W0, W1 (white)Ĭake: pink + turquoise + E11, E43, E55 + Y17 (flame) White Card base (10.5cm x 14.8cm folded in half) Pattern Paper: Crate Paper ‘Paper Heart Collection’ Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black + Archival Jet Blackĭistress Ink: Worn Lipstick + Evergreen Bough I just enjoyed all the little confetti stamping on the front greeting, and I couldn’t stop! My other new obsession is stamping inside the card. Before colouring the accessories, I did choose my paper, and am loving the modern retro tiny print of this Crate Paper 6×6 paper … it’s kind of like funky wallpaper! I am also a tad obsessed with this turquoise/pink combo at the moment.
I started with by colouring the animals … and this is how you know I was enjoying family time … I coloured the fox without realising I hadn’t turned on the camera *oops* #sorry. Well, what’s a girl to do when she’s on doctors orders not to speak, and family drop around on the weekend? Thankfully they gathered in the studio so the kids could play a fun buzzer game on the old Playstation, so I was able to sit and make a card, and not miss out on watching them have some fun!
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