Similar to the other reviews.
Has potential but is a bit run down.
They first need to change their name to Centre for Sustainable Living.
The technology is no longer alternative technology, just either old, obsolete, or mainstream.
I think the only actual fun I had was on the water-balanced cliff railway - much better than the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway.
The staff were very nice.
Good place to take eco classes & learn how to set up your environmental friendly home energy or passive house set up, in a nice place too!
Most memorable part, getting to see inside one of those massive wind turbines. So many issues raised on this visit to think about later, it's pretty there too..
Fantastic place. I was captured after our first visit over 3/4 years ago. Since then we've been back 3 times now. Should fate ever allow i would gladly live & work there. The intention of the place over the last 40 years is fascinating & the achievement and influence it has had & continues to have is very impressive.
At a more pragmatic/ objective level, reasons to visit...
*interest in sustainability or the environment - without a doubt worth a pilgrimage!
*fan of organic gardening/ wild gardens/ permaculture
*Ride on the water/ gravity powered cliff railway - quite impressive
*Countryside/ wildlife - the place is keen on environmental topics, seems like a bit of a nature reserve.
*Good cafe/ cakes/ etc.
*Fun for children - lots of random things to do and see - handles to find up, a giant mole, wind powered chair, all sorts of bits and bobs
Reasons not to visit.
Can't really see any - I guess the entrance fee is the main one - its a shame it cant be free, but the money they raise obviously goes towards the cause.
If you don't have some sort of interest in at least one of the above, then there is not much point. But go anyway, you may suprise yourself :-)
When visiting, I think it helps to remember where it came from and why it was built - it ins't a theme park, or a money making venture, it originally started as a commune and a way to show an example of how alternative technology could be used.
Many interesting exhibits with plenty of information about a wide variety of 'green' options. Including what plants and herbs to plant, how to compost and hints for good ground irrigation and drainage. There is an information centre with a well stocked and thoughtfully laid out gift shop.
Well worth a visit!
My visit to CAT was an interesting experience. There were many sections that represent different ways of conserving the environment and uses for alternative technology. There were some interactive activities that show how much energy household appliances require and the toll this can have on the country's resources and the individual's wallet.
The centre is targeted at people with a specific interest in this area, so it may not appeal to everybody, so it's not the best place to take young children (as they would likely become bored)
The overflow parking spaces were absolutely atrocious. They were very far from the centre itself and were clearly not maintained very well. The normal parking spaces were ok.
Overall, an interesting experience.
An absolutely great place to spend a fun day at ! :)
Great to see what alternative energy and building techniques are available can be used. Lots of yands on activities and displays. Dont tell the kids, but this is also educational
The wife and I went back to CAT today, we last visited about 15-20 yrs ago when the kids were still kids. Wow, what a dissapointment. Don't get me wrong, it's set in some lovely natural surroundings and we didn't expect Disney world but we More
Inspiring place. Lots of ideas that clearly work, from sustainable building, renewable energy, to how to make your day to day life more carbon neutral with realistically small changes. Ive even cone away with ideas on making my garden a better place. Also, it's dog friendly (short controlled lead and just be aware of the very few no-dog zones and pick up a couple of free biodegradable poop bags on offer.) I had a very calm couple of hours there and would like to go back to do the quarry walk. It is mostly outside and there can be some uneven areas bug if you are in the area Don't Miss This- do visit and inspired.
Nice place with very friendly staff, good for the kids.
Nice place to visit. Great for families. A lot of staff to learn. Ok food in the restaurant. If you have some free time is a must
Great interesting place to visit if you are like minded. I found out that I can wee on my compost!! Great food in the cafe, friendly staff. Was raining when we went. But still managed to spend 5 hours there and could have spent longer. The children's activities were great. I also joined in. Lots for kids to do, lots of paths etc to explore, the mole hole was good. Very impressed with their shop, lots of eco products and reasonably priced gifts. The funicular railway was great. Very inspirational place. Adventure playground for kids.
I volunteered at CAT over 30 years ago and then helped and visited again many times throughout the years.
We returned yesterday. CAT used to be vibrant, inspirational, exciting and at the front line with new technologies. Now it is dated, some structures rotting and everything is old technology of 20+ years. It looks neglected and is.
I truly hope someone inputs a decent sum to turn this place around and start exploring new technology and up to date ideas.
Excellent timber framing and other courses for ecological building.
Carwyn Jones, the tutor of the timber framing course, is beyond doubt one of the best teachers I have ever come across, being both knowledgeable, supportive, patient and humble despite all of his professional achievements.
We very much enjoyed our three day stay in the on site accommodations and enjoyed the delicious vegetarian and vegan food. The cooks go to great lengths to make special and flavourful dishes.
The CAT site hosts a large number of imaginative and eco friendly buildings to inspire anyone interested in architecture or building, especially building tiny houses. Children will enjoy the many playful but informative displays and smaller play structures. The site is stunningly beautiful with many old and moss covered trees as well as a view of an old slate quarry with a small waterfall.
There is a gift shop on site that has a well curated selection of building related books as well as honey, jam, tea, organic soaps, calendars, etc.
In terms of courses, the program of CAT has just been significantly extended and they now offer a course on how to make your own wind turbine, on creative writing and others.
Last but not least, being only a 10 minute taxi drive away from Minffordd Path (a UK nature reserve) to take you to the top of the famed Cadair Idris Mountain with its lakes (6 hour round trip) is the cherry on top.
Highly recommended for all ages and a top destination in the UK for anyone interested in sustainable living and eco building.
A long way for a day trip from home in Wiltshire, but well worth the drive. Lots of interesting facts about energy use and conservation. Not preachy. You can take as much or as little on board.....help save some cash or maybe the planet. You decide.
Visited 3 years ago and it was very educational and relevant to having a sustainable future. Hopefully CAT will open again soon
Great day took my 8yr old daughter and her friend they had a fantastic day staff really helpful in the art and craft building. We were very unsure due to other reviews but was a fab day out 2 happy girls
I just came back from the CAT today. I visited with my MSc programme, from UCL (MSc EDE). The people were really kind and welcoming, helpful with anything we needed and had everything prepared for our group, with no problems coming up. The food was quite decent I believe, always more than enought to eat, fresh and very filling, following vegetarian diet. My room in the WISE building was very nice and quite warm, although some other students claimed that their rooms were freezing cold, maybe mecause they were facing south or east. Mine was facing west and was quite warm, so no problems. The WISE building is only 3 years old, very interesting structure, built with wood, rammed earth and hemp-crete walls. The interior wood was not painted, which aesthetically was excellent, but it smelled quite a lot, probably because of insufficient ventilation. A very negative thing that I have to mention is their toilets. I don't know why, but the smell was horrible in the common toilets, it was so strong that it was "stuck" on my nose for hours..and I have a very poor sense of smell. They looked like nobody ever sanitized them.
What was really interesting is the variety of the buildings' structures, as they included strawbale, rammed earth, cob, wood, hemp-crete, etc. Too bad our schedule was too tight so we didn't have a detailed touring around the complex, but I'm pretty sure it would be very enlightening and interesting.
There were several hand-made structures scattered around the complex, related to wood craft, renewable energy, advanced technology and up-cycling, etc.
I totally recommend it because it something that you don't really meet every day. I definitely want to go back and explore more things about it and maybe attend some classes.
A really inspiring wonderful place. You can spend hours wandering around and we were taken by their courses! We may go back and study! Cafe is lovely too with delicious vegetarian food. Definitely worth a visit and we went in poor rainy weather and was just as exciting
Love this place. From the water powered lift, to the fab cafe.
Such a shame, has lots of potential.
Beautiful surroundings but it was like visiting a eco place from 20 years ago..
Nothing much to see or learn about.
However the coffees in the cafe was delicious!
Such a lovely place, I went with my school and enjoyed the whole experience to great lengths, the location is perfect, the staff are friendly and the cabins were brilliant!
This is a great day out. The complete opposite to national trust and other machine destinations, CAT has a small friendly and very welcoming feel. From the buying tickets to entering via the water train it is entertaining and interesting. For lunch, the cafe has great options for lots of different requirements, from vegan, GF, DF etc, the food is really simple (in a good way) with a home cooked feel to it. There was activities put on for the children so we all got competitive and built our solar powered boats which we launched on their small lake. If you are in the area, pay them a visit!
This place never ceases to inspire. A living and working example of how human interaction with the planet can be mutually beneficial....and the cafe serves great food.
Excellent place to visit. Insightful displays surrounded by beautiful nature3
The CAT is very tired looking with lots of things needing maintenance. This place needs a lot of tlc. In developing thier business ventures I wonder if they have lost interest in the presentation of the center to the paying visitor(?)
This place has a lot of potential, but it's a bit run down. A lot of the information is great, but many of the exhibitions are broken or damaged. The funicular to enter is fantastic though, it only takes a minute but it's gorgeous and really beautiful. The cafe is also good, serving only vegan or vegetarian options. There's also a nice walk around the old quarry at the rear of the site.
I'd recommend coming here, but mostly for a trip on the funicular and a walk rather than to see the exhibitions. Hopefully it improves in the future
Had a great afternoon out. The hands on exhibits were a hit with the children as was the mole tunnel. Excellent food in the cafe. Lots to see and learn. Some slightly more child friendly explanations on the signs might have been helpful.
Fantastic place for all ages.
Learnt a lot about being more sustainable and took away some ideas to implement at home. You can gift aid your ticket cost and get free access for a year.
Cafe does great vegan food and the cakes were awesome.
Sep 2015, fantastic place to visit with family. Really helpful staff and great food in cafe. Lots of practical things to look at. Will visit again.
We re are supporting this all the way! Great educational day out
A very interesting place to visit. It takes a good day to explore the whole site and there are fantastic guides who give tours.
Great place very educational and interesting also relaxing place to look around lots of outdoor space to picnic and relax. Helpful staff. The tram up to the top was it working which was a bit disappointing and some bits are still closed due to Covid and not offering a full range off food in the shop. The walk around in the woods and to the small lake is nice and not as long as they say it is 30min on the long walk for a well able person.
Splendid, educative, friendly, atmospheric with nice walks around.
A well recommended place for a lovely day out.
We visited CAT on a dreary December day and were inspired. We weren't put off going by the reviews saying it was worn down. Yes, in the damp Welsh weather there is some wear on the exhibits. However, while we were there, they were actively updating exhibits but also if CAT continuously replaced their exhibits to keep up with Disney style themed parks, it would be against their whole ethos! We found the WISE where the cafe is located inspiring in design and the food some of the best we've had! We'd very much recommend visiting and will go again in the future.
Boring and outdated, looks the same as 10 years ago and probably hasn't been updated since.
This was a really interesting place to visit. I found the rubber tile roof ideas great, and the straw houses fascinated me. Not sure about the composting toilets though...
I first visited about 8 years ago and was totally blown away.
I've been looking forward to returning ever since and was staying close so decided to visit again.
I hate to say it, but it looked extremely tired and, frankly, neglected. Maybe the enthusiasm has expired?
I came away really rather disappointed, which is a shame considering the enormous potential during an era when all the information should be so relevant.
Full of interesting displays on wide variety of subjects, something for everyone!
Not the best place to visit its a bit run down but it is wheelchair accessible.
I first visited CAT 20 years ago, and it was inspirational. We visited again today as we are staying locally. Very disapointed. The site is run down and the displays dated, and do not reflect the urgent environmental issues of today in a current way - they simply show the state if thinking 20+ years ago. CAT are no doubt running good courses, but their visitor experience needs investment and passion.
Our favorite was the water balanced cliff railway and interesting learning and nice short quarry walk for young kids
A fantastic place. It really makes you think about ways we could help save the planet. I stayed at CAT as part of a residential during the summer for five days. CAT has some amazing facilities available, such as the WISE building, and a shop and information point. The reason I'm not giving 5 stars is because CAT needs a bit of maintenance. Some of the information boards need updating, some of the buildings are falling down and crumbling and the toilets definitely need cleaning and improving. I stayed in the eco-cabins during my residential, and I learnt so much from those five days. The residential was organised by the BGF team down in Bristol, honestly they really did help me as well as the staff. I would highly recommend this place, one of a kind!
Had many happy memories there visiting my big sister as a child, i was never bored and I learnt so many things there, I'm going back at least 30 years, really glad to see your still going
Excellent well cool my kidsloved it and the water powerd lift cool
Fantastic day out even with some rain. Our two young girls loved all the things to do which help them learn about this kind of technology. Children's activities and the team behind it did a great job. Nice food in the restaurant especially the green Thailand curry.
I visited CAT in 9/2006 on my own. It was so educational and beautiful. I especially liked the passive solar house, the willow fence and play structures as well as the excelorated composting. The whole experience was wonderful
An absolutely fascinating place! A hub of ingenuity hidden away in a remote spot in rural Wales. A fantastic way to spend an afternoon if you get the chance. The cafeteria is outstanding and very reasonably priced.
Great day out, the kids loved it and there was loads to do. Staff at the centre were really friendly and we would definently visit again.
CAT is a must-see-site if you are interested in alternative technologies or not. It also has a great cafeteria with vegan and vegetarian options that rock and excellent coffee! Try to go early so you have plenty of time to see everything especially if you have children - you will need it. Don't forget to visit the shop at the end as it is really worth it!
First time while I was stepping into this nature-make camper/research center, I was sort of surprised, because unlike the update modern civilized master planning the way of constructions and landscape are still quite raw and untamed. Eco-friendly is the priority here. Unfortunately it was winter time during the graduation ceremony, all I saw just muddy ground, bare forest.
cat.org.uk
