Trago Mills facts for kids
Quick facts for kids  |
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| Private | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founder | Mike Robertson |
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Number of locations
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4 (Falmouth, Liskeard, Newton Abbot, Merthyr Tydfil) |
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Area served
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Southwest England and South Wales |
| Owner | Bruce Robertson |
Trago Mills is a group of four large stores found in southwest England and south Wales. These stores are known for selling many different items at good prices. One of their biggest locations, near Newton Abbot, even has a fun park and other small businesses.
You can find Trago Mills stores in Liskeard and Falmouth in Cornwall, Newton Abbot in Devon, and Merthyr Tydfil in Wales.
Contents
How Trago Mills Started
Trago Mills was started by a businessman named Mike Robertson. He bought the land for the first store in Liskeard in the early 1960s. From a small shed, his idea grew into the large stores we see today.
Trago Mills Locations
The main Trago Mills buildings in Liskeard and Newton Abbot were designed to look like castles. They have white towers and black windows, giving them a unique style. Trago also tried out smaller shops, like a 'Trago Mini Mart'.
Liskeard Store
The very first Trago Mills store was in Liskeard. It began as a small shed where founder Mike Robertson sold things he had bought from bigger towns. The current Liskeard store is about five miles west of the town. It has large areas of parkland and lakes, along with other local businesses.
At the entrance, you can see several statues. One of them is of a famous lawyer and politician, Sir Michael Havers. He is shown saying a well-known proverb about looking at your own faults before judging others.
Newton Abbot Store
The Newton Abbot location is the largest of the four Trago Mills stores. It covers a huge area of over 100 acres (about 0.4 square kilometers). This site also hosts several independent businesses.
In 2009, a large garden center opened here, which is the biggest in the southwest of England. A new restaurant also opened in 2010.
In October 2004, a big fire happened in the main building of this store. More than 200 firefighters worked to put out the blaze, which was one of the largest in Devon for many years. The damaged buildings were completely rebuilt.
In 2016, a clearance store called Trago2Clear closed down. The old clearance shed and a cafe were taken down. A new £3 million DIY and Trade center opened in the summer of 2017.
In July 2022, the petrol station at the Newton Abbot store became the cheapest place to buy fuel in the UK. This caused long lines of cars on the nearby road.
Trago Family Fun Park
| Location | Trago Mills, Newton Abbot, Devon, England |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 50°33′25″N 3°39′58″W / 50.557°N 3.666°W |
| Owner | Trago Mills |
| Operating season | All Year (Most Rides Closed In Bad Weather) |
| Attractions | |
| Total | 11 |
| Website | http://www.trago.co.uk/ |
The Newton Abbot store has a fun park called the Trago Family Fun Park. It opened shortly after the main store buildings were finished and now covers over 100 acres.
Here are some of the things you can find at the park:
- Bickington Steam Railway: This is a small train that runs from the middle of the park to the front car park. It goes around three lakes before returning to the station.
- Trago Mills Model Railway: This is a very large model train set that was finished in 1989. It was the biggest model railway in the UK when it was built. It is open from Friday to Sunday.
- Other Fun Activities: The park also has go-karts, an indoor ice skating rink, a shooting gallery, remote-control trucks and boats, trampolines, and crazy golf. There are also picnic areas and an animal park with horses, donkeys, and pigs.
- Shops and Food: Near the park, you can find small shops, cafes, and restaurants. They sell local treats like fish and chips and fresh fudge.
Falmouth Store
The Falmouth store is the smallest of the four Trago Mills locations. It is located near the National Maritime Museum Cornwall.
Merthyr Tydfil Store
After owning a former factory site in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, for almost ten years, work began on a new shopping center there in autumn 2016. The new store, which cost millions of pounds, has 17 small towers. It officially opened in April 2018.
Trago Mills and Aircraft
In the early 1980s, Trago Mills decided to design and build its own airplane. They hoped to sell it to the British military as a training aircraft. This led to the creation of the Trago Mills SAH-1, which first flew on August 23, 1983. The military did not choose this plane, but its design has been used for other aircraft since then, including the FLS Sprint.
