Stradey Park is located on the north side of the Lougher estuary, between Llanelli and Burryport. The earliest mention of Stradey is from the second half of the sixteenth century, in references to `Straddy', `Parke Estrade' and `Park Ystradey'. The park may have been enclosed by the beginning of the seventeenth century and that the `Parke Estrade' became part of the demesne lands that surrounded the old house. The main phase of development seems to have been contemporary with the new mansion, about 1850 (nprn 17825); the site of the old mansion lies some 350m to the south-west (407324).

The landform rises gently from the coastal plain, being a mostly south-facing slope that rises from about 5m to about 10m ASL. To the west is Stradey wood and the small valley cut by the Afon Dulais, whilst to the north, behind the house (17825), the wooded slope rises to about 40m ASL. The present house is located in the north-east of the park with fine views across the landscape. The park stretches south towards the sea from below the formal terrace of the house. Now much reduced by development for housing, schools and recreation grounds, what remains retains a park-like feel though there are few obvious signs of landscaping.
The park and gardens occupy about 40 acres with another 96 acres occupied by the castle and surrounding woodland. The main elements are the level coastal parkland still dotted with trees; the wooded hillside and river to the north and west; the formal gardens that surround the house (266128); the kitchen garden (700177); and ‘The Wilderness’, the woodland garden or arboretum that has recently been created on the site of a previous formal garden of the old house (700178).

The castle grounds are accessed from the B4308 Trimsaran road, which runs to its north. Of the six lodges in 1900, most have either gone or been modified but both northern lodges remain. The main drive is through woodland from the north-east, from an entrance at North Lodge, with a secondary approach from the south-west passing the site of the old mansion. Stradey Wood still contains water features linked to the Afon Dulais: weirs, ponds, and casscades. The southern drive (off the A484) curves around the west side of the park towards the castle forecourt. To the west of the drive are mature plantings including a Wellingtonia, probably one of the first introductions.

Woodland west of the castle was associated with both the aesthetic and the industrial - old quarries and coal mines. Behind and to the north of the castle an area of informal walks and plantings is reached either by rustic steps to the side of the spring (‘fountain’ on the OS map) or from a path off the drive to the east. During the late twentieth century this area was subject to some tree clearance and new underplantings of rhododendron. Mapped early surveys are mostly still evident. Adjacent to the castle is a small clump of conifer and deciduous trees - Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and some deciduous species. Wooden tree guards protect recently-planted specimens from grazing cattle.

Sources:
Cadw 2002: Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, 86, 89-90 (ref: PGW(Dy)47(CER)).
Ordnance Survey second edition 25-inch maps: Carmarthenshire LVIII.2 & 6 (1906).

RCAHMW, 18 May 2022