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Gelli Aur | Golden Grove
Country Park
A Phased Reopening
2024 marked a turning point for Gelli Aur. The Trustees and volunteers took on the challenge of restoring the Estate, driven by a passion for preserving its historical and cultural significance. Their vision was ambitious yet rooted in respect for the Estate's heritage.
The restoration project has been, and remains, a massive undertaking. It involves the rejuvenation, maintenance and development of the Parkland, Arboretum and Gardens, and extensive repairs to the Stable Block, Service Quarters and Mansion House. Our Trustees and volunteers work tirelessly, drawing on expertise from heritage experts, historians, architects, gardeners and the community to ensure the restoration is both authentic and sustainable.
Phase 1 - Completed
The reopening of Gelli Aur is not just about restoring buildings, it’s about breathing life back into the Estate and making it a vibrant part of the community once more. Phase 1 was delivered with the opening on Saturday 13th July 2024 of the parkland, café, toilets and playground. This included restoring walks and pathways through the meadows and woodlands, and building an online community (website and social media) for better communication and transparency for all.
Phase 2 - Completed
The restoration and maintenance of the Arboretum. This is critical for preserving biodiversity, supporting ecological functions, providing educational and research opportunities, as well as enhancing cultural heritage and community well-being. As we face growing environmental challenges, the role of the Arboretum becomes increasingly significant, offering a beacon of hope and a reminder of the enduring relationship between humans and the natural world. We opened the Arboretum to the public in May 2025. It is now open every Sunday, 11am-3pm.
Phase 3 - In Progress
With the re-opening of the Arboretum, it has now become possible to offer visitors the experience of walking around the outside of the Golden Grove Mansion to the North Terrace Garden, which has breathtaking views of the Tywi Valley. Originally the North Terrace was a beautiful Victorian Garden, work is in progress to successfully achieve funding to restore its parterres, flowers and fountain.
Priority Projects
The Golden Grove Trust will be focusing on the following current priorities:
Saving the Mansion House central staircase Atrium Deterioration of this 'skylight' structure above the central staircase has been caused by the theft of roof lead. We have obtained a grant from the Architectural Heritage Fund for a Structural Survey, but this can only take place once we have structural scaffolding in place. We are in the process of applying for this, whilst collaborating with Carmarthenshire County Council and Cadw to help expedite the works in an attempt to prevent collapse into the central staircase.
Grounds Maintenance
As we gradually improve our visitor’s experience with regenerating, making safe and expanding what is accessible to our Visitors, our amazing Grounds Team has an ever increasing task at hand. They are also clearing and improving the Stable Block to make that their base, whilst helping with the remedial work towards the Arboretum re-opening. We are applying for funding for machinery, as our trusted John Deere sit-on lawn mower is on its last legs.
North Terrace Garden
With members of the Welsh Historic Gardens Trust, a dedicated team of volunteer gardeners and horticulturalists are working to restore this beautiful garden. We are applying for funding to support this project. Preparation works will occur over the winter with, if funding is available, recreation of the flower beds in the spring and summer.
Other Projects
Other ways in which the Trust is working at shaping its future, in addition to the above:
Public Consultation & Feasibility Study. With a grant from the Rural Innovation Fund, the Trust has now successfully completed a Public Consultation and Feasibility Study. This aimed to ensure the Trust works with its second objective - to "provide opportunities for education, leisure, well-being, or other identified local needs which are exclusively charitable, by maintaining public access to and use of this space for the benefit of the local and wider community, as well as ensuring that it is sustainably managed for the future." The work started in July 2024, and included a Condition Survey on the Mansion House complex, a Public Consultation held both online as well as at the Twyi Centre in November, a Feasibility Study to prioritise the outcomes of the Consultation, and Multimedia Work (Social Media posts, Podcasts and Blog posts) running in parallel. Download the actual report below.
The outcome of this project showed the following top options in decreasing order of preference and recommendation through the points system applied:
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Medium-scale events usage
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The remarkable heritage of trees as a visitor experience (Arboretum)
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Stable block: self-catering accommodation, craft (or similar) units, potentially including an educational space for workshops etc.
The report also mentions the Public's and the Trust's desire educational provision across the Estate, which the Trust aims to implement by means of, e.g., history boards, name tags with QR codes on trees in the Arboretum.
Click to download
Rewilding / Biodiversity Project. Hereford cattle have been grazing the Eastern field adjacent to the Mansion House for the second year running, as part of our longer-term Rewilding and Biodiversity Project. The aim of this is to gradually and sustainably turn the field into a wildflower meadow that can be incorporated into a future vision of the 'Visitor Experience'.
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