FAMILY life in the Iron Age will feel closer than ever as the redevelopment of a unique visitor attraction in the north of the county takes shape.

Work is in full swing to develop Castell Henllys Iron Age Village with the creation of a new visitor centre featuring interactive exhibitions, a shop and a café.

The attraction, run by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, is receiving funding for the project from Cadw’s Heritage Tourism Project and the Visit Wales Digital Tourism Business Framework.

The funds have paid for an extension of the existing building, new exhibitions including digital interactives and an app bringing augmented reality to a National Park site for the first time. ‘Green’ technology is also being introduced, including a biomass boiler.

The project will also introduce visitors to wider prehistoric Pembrokeshire, linking Castell Henllys with other important heritage sites in the National Park.

Chairman of the National Park Authority, Cllr Mike James said: “These are exciting times for Castell Henllys and for all our visitors. There’s nowhere else quite like this evocative place; it’s the only Iron Age Village in Britain reconstructed on a site where our ancestors lived 2,000 years ago.

“Developing the attraction here will help conserve the cultural heritage of the National Park and it will further boost tourism, bringing wider economic benefits to Pembrokeshire as a whole."

The revamped centre will be officially launched in spring 2015 and it is business as usual in the meantime.