It was the school trip everyone wanted to go on.
For decades, Penscynor Wildlife Park was a must-visit destination for virtually everyone in south Wales, old and young alike.
Its stylised menagerie logo became iconic, popularised on car stickers and even used as a rock band’s CD sleeve.
The site in Cilfrew, Neath, was home to penguins, sea lions, snakes, birds and meerkats - and of course monkeys.
At its height it would attract 250,000 visitors a year, but the vagaries of the Welsh climate were not the most reliable foundations for business, and by the late nineties the writing was on the wall.
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The business was forced to close and the animals rehomed, and today the forlorn-looking premises have been empty for two decades as nature has slowly reclaimed its supremecy.
The former site which included a penguin pool, chimpanzee house, monkey island and alpine slide looks somewhat different today.
It was forced to close in 1998, the decision taken by Jon Quant, who in the preceding years had revitalised the park which had started almost by accident.
It had begun as a private collection of birds that had been put together by his grandfather Idris Hale, the man behind Neath-based construction company IG Hale Ltd and Hale Homes.
At its peak, the venue would employ 40 staff, rising to 150 at peak times during the summer, and welcome 250,000 visitors a year, making it one of the top three tourist attractions in the country.
"I had a fantastic upbringing at the park," said Jon Quant, who ran the park until its closure in 1998.
"But it's been closed for more than 20 years now, and nature has reclaimed the park.
"I haven't been there for a long time."
He added: "There is a twinge of sadness when you see these photos of what it looks like now.
"When I close my eyes I can see it exactly as it was, and these pictures conflict with what is in my head."
He concluded: "I come from a close family, and I was glad that two of my daughters, who were aged five and eight, got to experience a year of the park while it was open. I wish my third daughter had the same opportunity.
"It was an incredible way to grow up, and it taught me and my sister a massive amount about life.”
