The site has a long history; there are Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman remains in the surrounding hills, and it is believed that the current castle sits on the same site once occupied in the early medieval period by the castle of the local Welsh Prince. The castle and the country park that occupy the site today date back to the Victorian and post-Victorian eras.
In its heyday Craig y Nos Country Park had all the features that any fashionable Victorian parkland needed, walled kitchen gardens, glasshouses, rock gardens, a croquet lawn, a rose garden, ornamental and exotic trees including walnut, acacia, mulberry and eucalyptus, as well as oaks and beech. The park today is a Registered Park and Garden, is managed by the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, and is served by many gentle paths, a Visitor Centre and Tearooms and benches and picnic areas, making Craig y Nos an ideal place to spend an afternoon. As you stroll around the country park imagine that you are following the footsteps of Adelina Patti as she walked around her sumptuous landscaped garden. A wander around the fishpond might lead to a walk to a stand of Scots pine; according to local stories Patti used to walk among these trees to inhale their scent to assist in clearing her voice before a performance.
Craig y Nos Country Park is owned and managed by the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority, it is open every day except Christmas Day, tearooms open daily from 10am. Toilets and baby changing facilities open all day. Dogs are welcome at Craig y Nos Country Park, but must be kept leads, dog waste bins are provided in the car park. Parking charges apply.