The Pumping Station

Its unfortunate I have to give this place 1 star.
My mother bought an item from here and while looking at it over a coffee we noticed it was broken. We took it back to the counter and we’re told we would have to speak to the gentleman at the end of the counter with beard and glasses.
It was like we had woken him up, we asked if we could exchange it for an item that wasn’t broken. While this was taking place he noticed a mistake had been made by him on the price and we hadn’t paid the full value of the item. I would like to point out we hadn’t realised we had underpaid, if we were trying to get it cheap why would we take it back for exchanging. If he had asked nicely we would have made up the price as we enjoyed shopping here.
Instead he snatched it from my mothers hands and said you haven’t paid enough for this you’re not having it. After the shock of this we pointed out that we had already paid for the item and had a receipt for it, therefore we own it and technically he had stolen from us.
After a heated exchange and some intimidation from other staff members we managed to get a refund and promptly left.
In a nutshell the guy is rude, arrogant and I’m surprised he’s still in business.

A great place to spend a couple of hours if you like vintage, unusuall, pre loved items with a history. Everything from furniture, mirrors, boudoir items, dinky cars, lamp shades, military memorabilia, door knobs, stair rods, fire places, clothing and old picture frames. They even have what I am led to believe the origional Clarence the cross eyed lion from Dactari for those who can remember, now standing in a large glass case. The café on the lower ground serves snacks and drinks so you can take a break if your there a while and then continue with your browsing. The whole place is over 3 floors and you really need to see everything, ideal for a Sunday something to do trip. My only criticism is that the stall owners are often not around which makes it difficult to ask questions and buy things.

Love is… someone who shares the same taste in garden furniture as you. This is what I decided on my last visit to The Pumping Station, Grangetown’s goldmine of antique treasures and an unconscious museum of weird shopping habits.
This antique centre stretches over three floors and an extensive outdoor garden store, offering anything from 1950s crockery to vintage hats.
Generally, as with most antique centres, the best buys are in the home sections, as opposed to the retro fashions. This, of course, is due to the lack of mainstream appeal in more interesting items such as records and chests which will be admired by many, but not desired by all. If you want to get a disgusting dress your young granny would have turned her nose up at, you’re guaranteed to get ripped off.
Books are perfectly reasonable, and one stall has an impressive selection of adult magazines, which never fails to amuse me. Plus, there are collections of toys for every type of anorak, from doll’s house furniture to toy train sets.
Tastes will be challenged with the range of quirky little bits and bobs here so be prepared to quickly sculpt new opinions and argue with your companion about the aesthetic merit of a cherubic water feature.
URBAN CHALLENGE: Find a copy of Playboy from the year you were born

The words cornucopia and emporium spring to mind. It’s all arts and furniture and antiques and huge. We wandered round for ages and kept finding new bits.
We were actually on a mission to discover if they had antique tiles that we could put in the kitchen. We did find some but they were £10 each so we admired rather than bought. In fact much of the goods in the Pumping Station are really for admiration rather than purchase at least if you don’t have much money. If, however you are well heeled, and have a jangling trouser pocket, and have one of those credit cards you can use on a roller coaster then — beware! You will need a lorry to get out of there once you have bought —
A giant birdcage
A bed like Henry VII slept in
A table made of driftwood
40 antique tiles
And most anything else.

The Pumping Station — fittingly housed inside a Victorian pumping station owned by Welsh Waters — is a real treasure trove: a vast reclamation yard and antique shop covering three different floors.
It’s a great place to browse around and see what you discover, with more than 35 different stalls selling a wide range of antiques, modern furnishings, collectors’ items and other bits and bobs — all geared towards home interiors or improvements. There are also stalls selling other items that can make good gifts, such as costume jewellery, collectors’ toys, old books and comics, or decorative arts.
From old door knobs to huge wardrobes and Victorian fireplaces, you can pick up some really beautiful and unusual items. There’s modern furniture, antique furniture and even reproduction furniture — plus garden ornaments, fountains and other features.
One other thing to know about the Pumping Station if you’re doing up a house is that it’s also home to the ‘Fireplace Doctor’, who fixes and restores original fireplaces (many of them Victorian-​era), and can install them for you at your home, too, if DIY isn’t your thing.

I could get lost at the pumping station.
It’s a landmark, it has huge Victorian bird cages and statues of Roman soldiers on horseback in the car park that instantly draw you in.
Inside is like a huge, sporadic marketplace that’s full of treasures and special finds.
My personal favourites are the book shop (where you can pick up copies of playboy from the 60s) and the vintage clothes shop next door.

This is very recognisable and icon building thats easy to spot from the Cardiff Bay link road. I first went when i was a child and easily bored, especially by antiques.
Now as a grown up looking for unique artifacts to decorate my own place with I really love the place. It really is a treasure trove of everything that you want, from vintage clothes to reclaimed tiles. It really has the most massive selection of really unusual stuff and the old building that houses it all really adds to the atmosphere of the place.
I’d probably say that because its so well known, you maybe won’t get boots sale bargain finds but its a definite must visit.

This place should be in every guide book and on every website of Cardiff.
The Pumping Station is a densely packed building filled with antiques and collectibles. So densely packed in fact, that a supernova of flying Hornby trains and silver spoons can be expected any day now.
The drive up to this place is full of statues and garden sculpture, and always reminds me of the Narnian statues in the White Witch’s palace in ‘The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe’. The main hall is a Victorian building full of old fireplaces and interiors. Everywhere you look there is something new to catch your eye.
With around 40 individual stalls, there is a downstairs area with sections made to resemble old-​fashioned shop fronts, each with their own speciality. You might find anything from old comics to fine bone china. There is also a small café at the back, which, although not wonderful, is friendly and very reasonably priced. They make a good cup of tea.
If you have something very specific in mind then you may need to enlist the help of a member of staff, but otherwise the main joy of this place is the browsing and discovering.

This antique’s marl is a super place to visit, just for a browse around, or if you are looking for something special. There are lots of little sellers who sell items such as fire places, and wood surrounds, to china, bric a brac and brass. There is a little café in the basement that serves drinks and food.

l love taking myself along for a long mooch when l have time to spare. revisiting childhood items as well as years old antiques. there is no hard sell which makes it even nicer

What a great find this is! I first heard of it when a leaflet appeared on my mail box and left me curious about it. I just though that it was a bit far from the city centre and I still do, but there is something about the location that adds to the experience of visiting.
When you enter you will get the feeling that this is one of those antique furniture shops, because that is what you will see right away. But I suggest you explore a bit further, specially downstairs, you will be amazed with all the novelty and antiques that you will find. It seems like you are stepping back in time. Inside of this enormous warehouse you can even find a small Victorian arcade with tiny little shops filled with great collector’s items. I was tempted to buy some stuff there, but as skintness prevails I couldn’t And I felt that it was more like a visit to the old ages than a shop till you drop experience!
Go there and you won’t regret it!

This place is very similar to jacobs antiuqs but 4 times the size. This places has everything. from starwars stall to giant bronze statues of knights on horses. As you arrivbe you drive through all the sculptures and out door items, which are totaly amazing, and set the scene for whats to come. These incluse benches and tables etc made out of miss shapen wood, so beautiful! there are also bric a brac sorta places, which sell everyhting, and more specialist stuff like retro items. There is also a stuff lion in a box. a bit grim and un pc but its very interesting, i just hope it died of old age. The café again like jacobs is great vale and serves your usual small café style food, great baguettes etc. This place will take you a few hours to get around, as there is so much totally amazing stuff to see! check out the vintage furniture up the stairs as you fist come in, its stunning why did fashion ever change!

They have great bargans here at the pumping station & although its a bit scattered with items all over the place, its worth a good rummage as you’re bound find something to your taste

A great place to visit. filled with old and new stuff from stuffed animals to fantastic mirrors. This really is an aladins cave. You can see things from your past which are now selling at good prices and think I should have kept that! Well worth browsing around this place it’s fun for all the family. There is the biggest stuffed lion there that was in films. Nice little café doing snacks too. Outside there are gargoyles, huge statues, garden furniture and life size bronze horses I could go on. Great to pass away a few hours open on sundays too

This is a treasure trove of antiques, kitchens, collectables, pine funishings you name it it will be found here.
It is a mgical place full of amazing things old records, cast iron ornumentals, beautiful furniture and old fasion teddy bears you won’t believe the things that can be found here.
If you have pennies to spend or pounds this is an fabulous fun place, you can spend hours and get lost on the different levels and nooks and cranies.
there is a very reasonable café where you can have a cuppa and a slice of cake and even see a stuffed full size lion if you so wish.
it is great a real fairytale place.