When it comes to theme parks in west Wales, most people immediately think of the now-sadly closed Oakwood Park in Pembrokeshire. The Narberth attraction, which shut down in 2015, was a cornerstone of many childhoods, with legendary rides on Megafobia and Snake River Falls. However, it was not the only theme park that created priceless memories. For some, another park rivaled its more famous counterpart.
The Birth of Grove Land
In 1994, a new attraction opened its doors for the first time. The £1 million Grove Land Leisure Park was built in St Clears, Carmarthenshire, on the site of a working dairy farm. The park offered plenty for the entire family, with memorable rollercoasters like Thunderbolt, Cyclone, and Cyber Space. There was also the 'Dance Master' waltzer, twist rides like the iconic 'Rodeo Rider', the Snake Slide, dodgems, go-karts, a pirate ship, laser clay pigeon shooting, and pedalo boats.
Barmy Barny, the park's mascot, featured on its emblem. This was fitting due to the herd of pedigree Friesians developed at the dairy farm by the Williams family for four generations, renowned throughout the agricultural world.
Inspiration Behind the Park
John and Janet Williams decided to develop 30 acres of their 210-acre Grove Farm home into a theme park. They explained that the enjoyment and experience from showcasing their herd and catering for large numbers of people, combined with a love of sport and leisure, brought about the park's creation. They were also aware of "the pressing need to impede any further decline in the local rural economy."
The park, which opened seasonally, was expected to boost tourism and provide jobs for up to 70 people in its first year, increasing to 300 over three years. It was anticipated that 75,000 visitors would pass through its gates in the first season to sample a "country show ground atmosphere," with calf parades, animal showmanship, and a variety of rides and attractions chosen for their interactive nature and suitability for the whole family.
Affordable Fun
The park was very affordable, with adult ticket prices at £7.50 and children at £5.60. Visitors paid at the gate, and once inside, all rides and shows were free. There were takeaways, burger bars, and a picnic area for families to relax.
Memories from Former Staff
Jade Walsh worked at the park for two to three seasons from age 16 as a summer job. Now 40, she worked as a ride operator. "I worked a lot on the bumper boats and the pedalos which I enjoyed. I remember people would often get stuck in the reeds, so you would often have to go out and rescue them. The boats would also have to be tested in the morning, and it was all young people who would work there seasonally and we'd all enjoy that. Mr Williams who ran it was lovely, and was such a nice guy."
She recalled the Thunderbolt rollercoaster: "Thunderbolt was a gravity rollercoaster and how fast it went would depend on how heavy you were. Sometimes we would have to load it with sandbags if there was only a couple of kids in it. If it got stuck at the top, you'd have to climb up it, run across the tracks, push it, then get down to the bottom so you could stop it at the end. Health and safety wasn't a thing then, but I loved it!"
"My favourite part of working there was the people. It was a nice environment to work in. If you can imagine a nice seventies movie with children working at a funfair, it was like that. We had a lot of people who would come over and over again. Some people would visit a couple of times in the summer and come back every year. It was better for smaller children than Oakwood and there was less queues. It was just a much more relaxed atmosphere. It felt very safe. You could literally see everything from one place so parents could relax and let their children run from ride to ride. Everyone was really sad when it went, because there wasn't a hell of a lot to do around here. Everybody missed it."
Childhood Memories
Gemma Daniels has fond childhood memories of visiting the park on regular end-of-year school trips between ages six and nine when she attended Ysgol Llwyn Yr Eos School in Penparcau, Aberystwyth. Now 36, she said: "Trips to Grove Land are a core childhood memory for me. One ride that sticks out for me the most was rodeo-themed and it had a big mechanical horse in the middle with a cowboy on it. Basically, it was a sizzler ride. They also had a rollercoaster where the carriage you were in looked like a gold mine."
"The ride that we all avoided was a slide, it was like a big dipper, and it was the first time I had ever seen a ride like that. I remember kids coming off it with friction burns! They had a protector mat but you would bounce off it, because it was really fast."
She added: "I remember that it was never crowded like you see at theme parks these days, and you didn't have to queue long for rides. You'd have a chance to go on everything and see everything. When we were on school trips they would let us go off and we'd have to meet at a picnic table to have our packed lunch at lunchtime. It was really safe. I remember the little shop they had there where people used to get those water worms, that was the fascination at the time, and kids would also used to get snap bangs and use them on the bus on the way home. If it was open now, it's a place I'd take my son to. It's somewhere that I'm pretty gutted my kids won't get to go."
Closure and Aftermath
Sadly, in 2005, Grove Land closed its doors for good. Its rides were relocated, including Thunderbolt, which ended up at Loudoun Castle, and Cyclone, which found a new home at Killarney Springs Family Park. In 2008, the park was put up for sale for £3.3 million. In April 2014, plans for a "massive development" at the site were approved by Carmarthenshire Council, which would create 32 new-build holiday cottages, 26 holiday accommodation units, and supporting leisure facilities. However, by 2018, the proposed project had still not come to fruition, but it is understood that it finally opened at the beginning of the year as a static caravan park.
It has been 21 years since Grove Land welcomed its final guests. But for the thousands who spent their summers visiting or working at the park, it has created memories that they still hold onto dearly.
