Swansea and Neath
Gnoll Estate
An eighteenth-century designed landscape above Neath, with cascades, ponds and a mock ruin, restored after decades of neglect.
- Distance
- 3.1 mi / 5 km
- Time
- 1 hr 45
- Ascent
- 160 m
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Shape
- Circular
Where it is
The circle shows the general area, not the exact start. Use the directions link below to get to the car park itself. Contours and paths shown are OpenTopoMap, drawn from OpenStreetMap data.
The route
Waymarked paths climb from the visitor centre through the woods past the cascade and ponds, with a longer loop onto the hill above.
Worth knowing
- The cascade is a formal water feature rather than a natural fall, and was designed to be seen from the house.
- The house itself was demolished in 1957 and only terraces remain.
- Good in wet weather; the paths are mostly made up.
What you’ll see
The formal cascade, the fishponds, woodland and the view over Neath.
Background
The Mackworth family developed the estate on the profits of copper smelting and coal, laying out the water gardens in the 1720s.