Rainy days in Wales: the best indoor family days out
Some of Wales’ best days out happen indoors. Most of them are easily reached by train.
Here are our favourite places to head to when the forecast looks grim. Be sure to plan your journey before you set off.
1. Techniquest, Cardiff Bay
Techniquest is one of the best science centres in the UK. It's been getting children excited about how the world works for decades. The hands-on exhibits let kids experiment, build, test and explore at their own pace. The planetarium shows are ideal for a grey afternoon.
How to get there: Cardiff Bay is a five-minute ride from Cardiff Queen Street station, or a 20-minute walk from the city centre. There's plenty more to keep the family busy in the Bay if you want to make a full day of it.
2. National Museum Cardiff
One of the finest free museums in the UK, the National Museum Cardiff has everything from dinosaur skeletons and giant whale models to one of the best impressionist art collections outside of France. It's the kind of place you can spend hours without noticing the rain hammering the windows outside.
How to get there: The museum is a short walk from Cardiff Queen Street station or around 15 minutes from Cardiff Central.
3. St Fagans National Museum of History
St Fagans is one of Europe's leading open-air museums. With both indoor galleries and reconstructed historic buildings, it’s just as rewarding on a rainy day as a sunny one. More than 40 original buildings from across Wales have been relocated and rebuilt on the 100-acre site, from a Celtic village to a 1950s prefab.
The main gallery building is also free and covers Welsh history from prehistoric times to the present.
How to get there: St Fagans is around four miles west of Cardiff city centre. Bus services run from Cardiff city centre, or it's a short taxi from Cardiff Central station.
4. National Waterfront Museum, Swansea
This striking waterside museum tells the story of industry and innovation in Wales, from the copper and coal boom to the digital age. It's spacious, beautifully designed, free to enter and interesting for adults and older children alike. The interactive elements keep younger visitors engaged and the café overlooking the marina is a good spot to sit out a heavy shower.
How to get there: Swansea station is a short walk from the museum, with direct trains from Cardiff Central taking around an hour.
5. Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon
A visit to Big Pit is one of the most vivid experiences Wales has to offer. Former miners lead underground tours through the actual pit workings, taking you 90 metres below ground to see where thousands of men once worked. Above ground, the pithead baths, winding engine house and colliery workshops are all preserved and open to explore. Entry is free.
How to get there: The nearest railway station is Abergavenny, with bus connections to Blaenavon (around eight miles).
6. Bounce Below, Blaenau Ffestiniog
For a genuinely unusual rainy-day experience, Bounce Below takes a disused Victorian slate cavern deep inside a mountain and fills it with giant trampolines, slides and nets. It's not your average indoor activity centre. The temperature underground stays constant year-round, which makes it particularly appealing when the weather outside is at its worst.
How to get there: Blaenau Ffestiniog station is the end of the Conwy Valley line from Llandudno Junction, with the activity centre a short distance from the station. Book in advance as sessions sell out quickly.
7. Ffestiniog Railway, Porthmadog
There's something wonderful about watching rain lash the windows of a Victorian narrow-gauge steam train as it winds through the mountains of Eryri. The Ffestiniog Railway runs between Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog through some of the most spectacular scenery in Wales. The beautifully restored heritage carriages make the journey an experience in itself.
How to get there: Connect to the Ffestiniog Railway at Blaenau Ffestiniog station on the Conwy Valley line, or at Porthmadog station on the Cambrian Coast line.
