Part of the Wildlife Park was knocked down some years ago, with residential housing built on top, but the rest remains derelict and deserted - but people's memories of fantastic days out at the Park live on. In 1998, the park closed down, with its birds and animals relocated to new homes across the UK, whilst its chimps were moved to the nearby Cefn yr Erw monkey sanctuary in the Brecon Beacons. It was a place where I had grown up, and it had given me an incredible childhood." As a business decision, it was absolutely the right thing to do for the family - but personally it was difficult. If it was sunny, people would go to the beach or if it was wet they would go to leisure centres or the cinema. The ideal weather for the park was dry and overcast. But because of the weather, by May in 1998 that predicted profit turned into a £150,000 loss. "In 1998, it was predicted we would finally make a profit, of around £50,000. It was decided I would take it over, and initially we got the losses down from £100,000 to £7,000. "We had increasing numbers of birds and animals and something needed to be done, because otherwise it would become unsustainable. The park had made a loss for the previous ten years, and the costs were growing," said Jon. Visitor numbers continued to grow in the late 1970s and into the 1980s, but by the 1990s it became clear that the wildlife park was no-longer in a strong financial position Graffitied walls and damaged enclosures: how Penscynor Wildlife Park looked in 2020 (Image: WalesOnline/Gayle Marsh) In the mid 1970s, the wildlife park became home to two rescued chimpanzees - among the most popular residents at Penscynor - and it soon welcomed sea lions, snakes and meerkats, with more and more visitors flocking to the site to see them. 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.
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.
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