A day out at Barry Island
Last week I drove down to Barry Island from my home in Cardiff. I’ve been trying to take our three year old twin girls to new places this summer holiday and although Barry Island isn’t a new place for me, it was for them.
I have fond memories of visiting Barry Island when I was a child. The pleasure park was always something my sister and I looked forward to, with the log flume in particular being one of our favourite rides.
Sadly the log flume was demolished in April of this year as the structure was beyond repair, but there are still plenty of rides available to big and little kids!
The beach front has been updated quite a bit since I last visited with an array of colourful beach huts which are available to rent. They certainly help to give the beach front a British seaside feel!
I’m used to driving in Cardiff, so I had to use my sat nav to find my way to Barry Island, but it only took me about 40 minutes and I didn’t get lost once!
Parking was pretty easy as there is a fairly large car park at the top overlooking the beach which is just £5 for the day. If you’re lucky enough to arrive early you might even be able to grab a free parking space right on the front.
Upon arrival we headed straight to the beach. It was around 10am and the beach was pretty quiet so we were able to choose a good spot to put our towels down. The beach was clean, although I don’t remember seeing any lifeguards there.
I brought the girls buckets and spades with us as well as a football. They really enjoyed playing in the sand, making sand castles and searching for shells and pebbles!
We wandered down to the sea which took about five minutes, but we were walking quite slow! We stopped half way to draw a heart in the sand!
The water was cold which is to be expected in Britain, but that didn’t stop us from having a good time!
We had lunch on the beach as I’d brought a picnic with us. There are bins situated on the promenade, but none on the beach itself so it’s worth bearing this mind and bringing an empty carrier bag with you for your rubbish.
The toilets are situated down the end of the main promenade by the amusements so depending on where on the beach you sit you’ll either be close to them or quite far away. Luckily I’d brought our portable potty with us so this wasn’t too much of a problem.
After our picnic we decided to go for a walk. I bought R an ice lolly and M a slush puppy then we headed toward the amusements. It was around 2.15pm by now so I decided not to go into the main pleasure park area as the girls were getting pretty tired.
The amusement arcades are exactly the same as they were when I used to go as a child! Lots of machines that you can empty your penny jar into and the usual toy grab machines too.
One big noticeable thing for me is that are a lot more rides for children than when I was growing up. They now extend onto the promenade so we took advantage of a few of them. You do have to buy tickets for the rides which are priced as follows:
1 ticket = 75p
7 tickets = £5.00
30 tickets = £20.00
50 tickets = £33.00
The girls went on a teacup ride was three tokens each so a total of six tokens. I also let the girls have a go a hooking a duck which was £2.50 a go (they also accept tokens). I like this one as you win a prize every time!
Overall, we had a lovely day out. I’d definitely go again. It’s a great way to spend a few hours on a warm, sunny day!
For more information about Barry Island, click here.
46 Comments
purple pictures
August 20, 2015 at 6:42 am
Looks like a lovely day out. We are heading to Wales in September and will be spending a day near Cardiff so it's great to have ideas of new places to stop at! #lovewhereilive
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:33 pm
It really was a lovely day out and I can't wait to go again! I definitely recommend a visit if you're down this way. You may want to take a look at my travel and days out page for some other ideas 🙂
kerry norris
August 20, 2015 at 9:38 am
We love it there although it does end up costing me a small fortune as Eva wants to go on everything. I'd heard they were putting the log flume back in! I hope so as I loved that as a child x
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:34 pm
Hi Kerry, thanks for your email. I can see how it could get expensive quickly! Luckily the girls were happy putting pennies into the slot machines! I've not heard about putting a log flume back in, but would be great if they did! I loved it as a child too! x
Hannah Latoya Bond
August 20, 2015 at 10:08 am
Barry is a great day out. I used to love spending afternoons here and going on all the rides in the funfair. I haven't been this year, but I've heard good things about the rides that are now there x
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:35 pm
Hi Hannah, thanks for your comment. It was the first time I'd been to Barry as an adult and we did have a good time. I've heard Jackson Bay is meant to be lovely as well, so will have to try that out next down x
Lucy Dorrington
August 20, 2015 at 4:56 pm
I keep meaning to visit Barry Island, as it's not all that far from us. The beach looks amazing! #LoveWhereYouLive
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:35 pm
Hi Lucy, thanks for your comment. I'd recommend a visit. We were there for hours and it was lots of fun. The beach was lovely and clean x
Lina – Cookies and Cwtches
August 20, 2015 at 10:25 pm
You've got to love Barry Island 😉 There are lifeguards on duty but only at certain times, I don't think it is made very clear. It is a great place for a nice day out!
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:36 pm
Hi Lina, thanks for your comment. Thanks for letting me know about the Lifeguards. I didn't really know how it worked. We were there a good number of hours and didn't see any, but then again I wasn't looking out for them so could easily have missed them! It is great for a day out 🙂
MamaMummyMum
August 21, 2015 at 6:29 am
looks like you picked a great day to visit, great pictures of your girls, they certainly look like they had a fab time 🙂 #binkylinky
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:37 pm
Hi MamaMummyMum, thanks for your comment. I'm glad you like the pictures, they really did have a fab time x
Sareyfairy L
August 21, 2015 at 7:35 am
This looks great, I love the pic with Nessa's Slots! #lovewhereIlive
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:37 pm
Hi Sairyfairy, thanks for your comment. Yes, Nessa's slots! We went in and had a few goes – sadly didn't win much other than some of our pennies back!
mummuddlingthrough.com
August 21, 2015 at 8:08 am
I love Barry island…even though I'm all the way over in the South East of England! I actually spent a fab day there on my hen weekend, and a couple of raucous nights out in Cardiff of course. Thanks for reminding me I promised myself I'd go back one day, when I had kids x MMT #brilliantblogposts
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:38 pm
Hello, thanks for your comment. I can imagine it being quite good for a hen do! I hope you get to return soon x
theanxiousdragonsblog
August 21, 2015 at 8:10 am
I love Barry, tho I havnt been for many years. I believe the pleasure park has been bought now by Danters fair, so will be interesting to see how they re Invent it. #blonkylinky
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:39 pm
Hello, thanks for your comment. I've not hear of Danters Fair, but am hoping to have a proper look in the fun fair for our next visit x
Reimer Ruby
August 21, 2015 at 9:52 am
Seems like a beautiful day out! It's nice just going out in the beach and playing in the sand… having an ice cream is a bonus. Great post! #binkylinky
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:39 pm
Hello, thanks for your comment. It really was a beautiful day out. The beach was lovely. I wish I'd treated myself to an ice cream!
Mummy Fever
August 21, 2015 at 11:21 am
Oh how lovely – looks like you had a great day 🙂 #BinkyLinky
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:39 pm
Hello, thanks for your comment. We really did have a great day, thank you x
All about a Mummy
August 21, 2015 at 12:50 pm
We haven't visited Barry but seeing as Gavin and Stacey is one of our favourite shows we really should! Sounds like a lovely place for a day out.
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:40 pm
Hiya, thanks for your comment. I think Barry will always be referred to as the home of Gavin and Stacey now! It really was a nice day out x
Jeremy Barnes
August 21, 2015 at 1:00 pm
Its always great to re-live your own childhood memories with your children. I've been doing this a lot this summer. looks like a great day
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:41 pm
Hi Jeremy, thanks for your comment. It was nice to re-live it and to be able to take my own children there x
theloveofacaptain
August 21, 2015 at 1:40 pm
Looks like a gorgeous place to visit ! I'd love to visit if just for the Gavin and Stacey connection alone 🙂 #BinkyLinky
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:41 pm
Hi, thanks for your comment. It was lovely and I'd definitely recommend a visit if you're down this way x
Helen Gandy – Beautiful Things
August 21, 2015 at 7:12 pm
Oh my word your girls are too cute, and very photogenic! Trying to get a picture of Alfie is such an effort! Looks like you had a great day out and had nice weather too 🙂
#binkylinky
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:42 pm
Hi Helen, thanks for your comment. I agree they are cute and photogenic! Thank you! We had a lovely day and the weather was great. It's back to rain now though!
Something Crunchy Mummy
August 21, 2015 at 7:38 pm
Looks and sounds like a great day. I've been wanting to go to Barry Island for ages #binkylinky xx
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:42 pm
Hi Kirsty,thanks for your comment. Have you ever been to Barry Island? Maybe that's where we should meet up! x
Mrs Tubbs
August 21, 2015 at 9:04 pm
That looks such a lovely day. We used to go Barry when we were kids as both my grans lived in Cardiff. Thanks for being back some happy memories!
Emily
August 21, 2015 at 9:42 pm
Hi Mrs Tubbs, thanks for your comment. It was a lovely day x
Random Musings
August 21, 2015 at 10:09 pm
The beach looks lovely and clean which is always a good thing. Looks like the girls really enjoyed their sandcastle building! Bit far for me to go for a day out but if I was in the area I would definitely be popping to that beach! Thanks for hosting the #binkylinky 🙂
Debbie
Emily
August 22, 2015 at 8:15 pm
Hi Debbie, thanks for your comment. The beach was lovely and the girls really did enjoy it there x
Claire Ridewood
August 22, 2015 at 6:28 am
Such a lovely day out! Thanks for linking up with #busydoinglife!
Emily
August 22, 2015 at 8:15 pm
Hi Claire, thanks for your comment!
Entertaining Elliot
August 22, 2015 at 8:24 pm
I've never been to Barry Island, it looks lovely from your pics though and what a nice beach! I'm a sucker for the 2p machines in the arcade 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up to #LovewhereILive xx
Emily
August 25, 2015 at 8:05 pm
Hi, thanks for your comment. Barry Island is pretty epic! The beach is lovely! x
Jenny Eaves
August 22, 2015 at 8:57 pm
It looks like a lovely beach to visit, very clean! I love the tea cups and it's great playing the games if they definitely win! 🙂 x
Emily
August 25, 2015 at 8:06 pm
Hi Jenny, thanks for your comment. The girls loved the tea cups, although I did have to ask the woman in charge of the ride not to spin them around so fast! x
Mudpie Fridays
August 24, 2015 at 7:02 am
I was born in Cardiff and we use to visit Barry Island when I as small, but I ave been back since – will have to add t to our bucket list – looks like you had a great day 🙂 #busydoinglife
Emily
August 25, 2015 at 8:06 pm
Hi, thanks for your comment. I'd definitely recommend going back It's changed so much in recent years x
Cardiff Cruises
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