Cosmeston Medieval Village

The ancient art of falconry is regularly displayed at the village

This faithfully recreated attraction near Penarth has been used as a location for the BBC TV series Merlin.

Cosmeston Medieval Village is set in the year 1350, a troubled period in the history between the English and Welsh.

Special events are staged here at Bank Holiday weekends.

The village grew out of a fortified manor constructed around the 12th century by the Costentin family, who were among the first Norman invaders of Wales.

Many of the small villages along this coast were multicultural with populations made up of Welsh, English, French and Flemings.

The poor unsuspecting inhabitants of Cosmeston had the terrible pestilence, known as the Black Death to look forward to.

This plague came slowly and steadily from the East; in 1348 it reached Bristol. It probably swept away half of the people of the towns of Wales.

The village is open daily from 11am to 4pm in the summer, and 11am to 3pm in the winter.

See the Vale of Glamorgan Council website for more details.