OK….so Friday came early…thanks to some technical gubbins, you get this early…
I wasn’t ready for it.
Cardiff seized me from the moment I set foot on Castle Street. This is an old city that’s gone through the most incredible make-over: rooted in an ancient, storied past…but full of modern architecture, vibrancy, and sizzle. This is a city with its soul on display for the world to see.
CARDIFF CASTLE
Cardiff Castle is a fascinating place. An enclosed field (complete with free-range peacocks!), surrounded by late-medieval battlements, its main building has actually been totally recreated & remodelled over the years, and demonstrates styles and tastes that span centuries. It’s a curiosity, but absolutely gorgeous.
The crown jewel of the castle is the Norman keep - a tower that dates back to the 12th century, and housed (or should that say “imprisoned”) many of the extended family members of William the Conqueror. They were held captive in the keep…and to wander up and around its ancient architecture, one wonders how comfortable this captivity actually was…but it makes for an impressive tour in the modern day.
Here are several shots from Cardiff Castle…
THE CITY CENTRE
A mix of pedestrian malls, busy streets, old town markets, new shopping arcades, this compact, easy-to-navigate downtown centre is never boring, and I covered virtually ever inch of it. Bordered on the west by the River Taff & the imposing Millennium Stadium, to the north by the castle, to the east and south by train stations, Cardiff city centre is a pleasant urban niche. While you’re there, you get the feeling that the ladies from Sex and the City can mix at their leisure with large families, elderly pensioners, and hordes of tourists in perfect harmony. It’s relaxing, it’s exciting, and it’s beautiful, as the following pictures hopefully show…
CARDIFF BAY
A short railway stub, local transit bus, or the waterbus down the River Taff, takes you the quarter-mile journey from the city centre to Cardiff Bay. The result of a massive re-development, it saw the creation of a man-made lake, separated from the sea behind a massive barrier wall. A large square, the Millennium Centre, an astonishing metal fountain, and a quay containing more bars and restaurants per square foot than any other place I’ve seen, were placed along the shore of this lake…and the end result is a futuristic, lustrous summer hot spot that feels as if it had been scooped up from a tropical resort, and set down in the Welsh capital.
It certainly satisfied my Doctor Who craving - I was able to see ALL of the locations that were used over the last two years of the program. It was positively surreal…much more than my London visit. My Doctor Who hunger was also satisfied by a visit to an exhibit showcasing the new series, complete with props, giant video screens, costumes, and a well-stocked shop!
The pictures hopefully do justice to the location - the buildings, the waterfall (in which I happily played in with the other children!), the square, the quay-side…I can’t praise this place enough!
THE SEA SIDE
Barry Island’s Whitmore Beach. Here I am…playing in the sea, for the first time in my life. Is it sad to be excited to discover that salt water ACTUALLY TASTES like salt water? Ah well…I was EXTREMELY HAPPY! A wonderful, picturesque seaside holiday suburb of Cardiff, and we got there early enough not to have to pay for parking!
OK…after three incredible, hectic, blistering hot, exhausting days — THREE DAYS in which I’ve seen more of England and Wales than I ever thought possible — you don’t get any more post-adventure thoughts until I’ve relaxed and rested…certainly not until I get back from my day visit to London tomorrow. The Westminster Parliament tour awaits!
In any event, my chauffeur and gracious host & guide is knackered beyond all reason…he needs the rest more than I do! Bless him. 
