About this museum
The South Wales Aviation Museum at St Athan is the new-school volunteer museum done right: a working restoration outfit (GJD Services) opened its hangar doors, filled the apron with fast jets, and adopted an everything-is-touchable policy. Gnats, Harriers, helicopters, a spiral staircase to a cafe with a flight-line view — and the sit-in-the-cockpit count is unmatched in Wales.
The resident Harrier and a growing VC10/Tornado-era collection, most with steps and open canopies. Kids exit wearing thousand-yard grins.
- Harrier GR.3
- Folland Gnat trainers
- Sea King & Wessex pair
Roughly a tenner, kids free with adults, dogs welcome. The cafe is up a spiral staircase — staff will ferry food down for anyone who can't climb, but reviewers suggest asking.
“Fabulous place, lovely staff/volunteers, me and my son loved it.”— David, visitor report
Airframe checklist
Tick them off as you go. Identities are as held in the gazetteer survey — verify against the museum’s own labels if something has moved.
| Type | Identity | |
|---|---|---|
| Avro Shackleton | — | |
| BAe Hawk | — | |
| BAe Sea Harrier | — | |
| Beagle Terrier | — | |
| Blackburn Buccaneer | — | |
| Boeing 707 Cockpit section | — | |
| Boeing 747 Upper cockpit section | — | |
| British Aerospace 146 | — | |
| de Havilland Canada DHC-1 Chipmunk | — | |
| de Havilland Sea Devon | — | |
| de Havilland Vampire | — | |
| English Electric Canberra | — | |
| Fairey Gannet | — | |
| Folland Gnat | — | |
| Gloster Meteor | — | |
| Handley Page Victor | — | |
| Hawker Hunter | — | |
| Hawker Siddeley Harrier | — | |
| Hawker Siddeley Nimrod | — | |
| Hawker Tempest | — | |
| Hunting Jet Provost | — | |
| Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star | — | |
| McDonnell Douglas Phantom FG.1/FGR.2 | — | |
| Panavia Tornado | — | |
| Percival Pembroke | — | |
| Percival Sea Prince | — | |
| Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer | — | |
| SEPECAT Jaguar | — | |
| Vickers VC10 | — | |
| Westland Lynx | — | |
| Westland Sea King | — | |
| Westland Wessex | — |
Location & contact
- Address
- Picketston Business Park, St Athan, Barry CF62 4QR
- Phone
- 01446 788476
- Website
- www.southwalesaviationmuseum.com/
- Hours
- Sat–Sun 10am–4pm
(from your local clock — verify before travel) - Gazetteer
- WA-01 on the situation map