WALES

Cardiff

Sus, though generally London based, is offered work throughout the country. Bridgend was the lucky recipient this time. A short hop from Bridgend is Cardiff and this seemed an opportune time to explore the Welsh capital city. I tagged along for a long weekend. And rather glad I did.

Cardiff is a sensible hour and 45 minutes from London by train. Though, because of a carelessly flooded tunnel, a detour was necessary adding another 20 minutes or so onto our journey.  

Cardiff has a population of around 335,000 with, or so it initially seemed, nearly as many pubs. Weatherspoon’s is perhaps the second sight a tourist sees on leaving the train station. As you walk onto the thoughtfully pedestrianised Queen Street (Cardiff’s main thoroughfare) several other large establishments are lined up for your consideration – O’Neill’s, All Bar One and others of similar awfulness. All were packed, a couple remarkably had queues. This was a little before 3pm on a Friday afternoon.

At this juncture you may be thinking of abandoning both myself and Cardiff. Please don’t. My scribblings might not, but Cardiff certainly deserves a little more of the reader’s good will.

Once a bewildered tourist escapes the parade of pubs Cardiff city centre thankfully improves. Attractive Victorian and Edwardian architecture vie with the ultra-modern Principality Stadium, the River Taff and of course that imposing castle. There were food stalls, Christmas stalls and large indoor shopping centres.  We strolled past and through many of these delights on a 20 minute yomp from the train station to our self-catering apartment.

It was late afternoon, getting dark and desperately trying to rain. We bravely decided on a stroll to the regenerated Cardiff Bay. The strolling took 25 minutes, with a beautiful old wall on our immediate left and a mildly sketchy low rise estate to our right, making it a tad more exciting than it needed to be.

Nevertheless, Cardiff Bay was a very pleasant place to be. There’s a beautiful Victorian church, the magnificent Welsh Assembly building and numerous generic restaurants and bars. With added view. May I also recommend the Makers Guild Wales which, housed in an attractive modern building, is a retail outlet for quality Welsh made, unique craft products.

It started to rain. We headed back. Feeling adventurous we chose another route taking us through an area of regeneration. Considerably more agreeable. And quicker. Which was weird as the distances were the same.

One of the highlights of Cardiff city centre are several beautiful Victorian arcades housing mainly independent shops, bars and restaurants. These Victorian delights should be explored at your leisure perhaps stopping for a drinkie, a bite to eat or a little light consumerism.

We had a takeout curry. In our defence we both were feeling a tad delicate from the previous night’s tippling. Sus drank conspicuous amounts of wine with colleagues, I caught up with a mate who seemed intent on trying at least half the beers available. Mother Kelly’s has 30 taps.

We had an early night.

My youngest brother lives in Herefordshire with 2 kids, 2 dogs but just the one wife. Probably wise. Al, obsessed by mountain biking, spends a surprising amount of time falling from various 2 wheeled contraptions in Wales – the border is a short drive from his house. We met up with Al and Carol (the one wife) spending a very pleasant couple of hours ambling in Abergavenny.

Abergavenny is an attractive market town surrounded by lush countryside. A visitor will discover cosy cafes, interesting pubs and a large partly covered market. The market had some genuinely quality products and produce – we bought wrought iron candle holders, which if purchased in London, would necessitate flogging the car; and ridiculously cheap homemade chocolates that would embarrass any chocolate(s) found in your local supermarket. Like Monmouth Abergavenny is one of the prettier Welsh towns. And like Monmouth I would encourage you to visit.

After saying our goodbyes we headed back to Cardiff and our hotel. I scoffed reheated curry, Sus destroyed (with my help) a splendid ciabatta – from Abergavenny market. Obvs. Then out on the lash. When in Cardiff….

A quick snifter in the splendid Tiny Rebel tap room, an excellent Welsh craft brewer, was followed by a couple more snifters in the seriously sedate Hopbunker. After a total of 3 pints (between us) we headed back. Told you, out on the lash.

Sunday morning was cold and wet. We drank an excellent coffee in one of the numerous arcade cafes before spending an hour vainly searching for a place to leave our bags for a couple of hours. Our self catering apartment catered not for left luggage. Finally the lovely people at the tourist information were able to oblige.

If one examines the castle walls from outside a red brick line should be apparent roughly one third of the way up from the base. Anything below this line was constructed by those much travelled Romans; anything above that same line is courtesy of those helpful Victorians.

The Victorians were well known for renovating ancient monuments in their own image. Well built they might be, sympathetic they were not. Some, perhaps even many, historians now believe these renovations more destructive than constructive. This is not new. In the 17^th century Capability brown landscaped Cardiff Castle grounds destroying a number of ancient buildings. Many at the time thought this vandalism.

Sunday morning was still cold and wet. Heroically we decided to explore castle and its grounds. Visitors will discover remains from the site’s Roman past, a well preserved Norman keep, a World War Two air raid shelter and a small museum dedicated to the Welsh Guards. The manor house is a Gothic Revival edifice much favoured by Victorian architects. Some might consider it a tad gaudy, others an 18^th century masterpiece. Pay the entrance fee and decide for yourself. Then let me know. I’m yet to decide.

We returned to the Tiny Rebel tap room for a cheeky half and bite to eat. The latter was a deceptively large plate of chips with cheese and gravy. I opted for the Christmas special which included, for the health conscious, pigs in blankets and stuffing. It’s still journeying through my digestive system 3 weeks later.

The trains were having a bit of an off day, this being a Sunday and all. At least half decided not to bother. Wrong kind of drizzle presumably. However, and rather fortuitously, I was able to catch an earlier train back to London. Sus was to spend the following week on an industrial estate in Bridgend. Lucky girl.

Cardiff is difficult to define – a little of the northern English town, a sprinkling of a wealthy southern city and a dash of the modern capital city. It’s friendly, surprisingly cosmopolitan and agreeable. If you do happen to materialise in South Wales Cardiff merits a visit. With a side trip to Abergavenny.