Cardiff
Holiday details, for the three and a half people who are interested...
Our hotel was on the western side of Cardiff. Out the back of the hotel was a fair sized artificial lake. The hotel also had a health spa in the basement with gym (didn't use), pool, whirlpool, sauna and steam room (used extensively).
This heron was a frequent visitor to the lake, as was the cormorant swimming nearby. However, neither of them was brave enough to take on "Nessie", as we called him...
We actually saw this monster koi swim bold as brass back and forth in front of the heron, right at the surface. Each time he did, the heron feigned nonchalance, scratching under his chin with a foot... I suspect those two have a history!
Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera handy at the time, but I did get some footage of "Nessie".
For scale, he was about two foot long and at least eight inches in diameter!
On Sunday, we drove into Cardiff Bay. This is a fairly new resort/development on what used to be an industrial/dockland area just south of the centre of Cardiff, built around an area of what used to be wetlands but has been flooded by the building of the Cardiff Bay Barrage. This has effectively created a brackish water lagoon (brackish, for those who don't know, means mixed fresh and salt) as the tide does flow into the bay when it is high enough but the bay is generally above sea level and is fed by two river estuaries.
On the way to the bay itself, we passed the Cardiff Millennium Arts Centre.
It's a giant copper kettle shaped like a computer screen! I'm not sure what the inscription reads, as the part that is apparently in English doesn't make sense and I don't speak Welsh.
A view across the bay.
A modern art sculpture that was actually very interesting. Oh, the sparrow on the dog's ear is real, not part of the sculpture!
A view out of the mouth of one of the dry docks.
This next building caught my eye. While investigating it I met a gentleman who owned the local road-train franchise (a tourist train pulled by a farm tractor disguised as a steam locomotive - sorry I don't have a picture, Google for one if you don't know what I mean). This chap was also a tour guide and was happy to answer my questions about the building.
It was built originally as the stables for the Marquis of Bute, who owned most of South Wales in the nineteenth century and had the original Cardiff Docks constructed. It later became the Pilotage buuilding, from where pilots would go out in small boats to guide bigger ships into harbour. It is now a restaurant.
The weather vane is not part of the original structure, but is a later addition, having been added about ten years ago to commemorate the demise of Cardiff's fishing fleet.
After this, we caught a trip on a water bus that plies between Cardiff Bay and Penarth (on the other side of the bay). Basically it was a half hour boat ride that meant we got to see things we wouldn't have seen, and was good fun!
The Norwegian Church Art Gallery - originally a church built by Norwegian sailors who came to Cardiff on ships bringing pit props (wooden struts for the coal mines in the valleys above Cardiff).
Apparently the Children's Author Roald Dahl (who wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) was baptised there!
Looking back towards Cardiff Bay.
One of many sailing dinghies.
This boat is kicking up quite a "rooster tail". As it wasn't moving that fast, I imagine it's prop is too high...
The "sea lock" at the mouth of the harbour.
Penarth Custom House. I like decent architecture. What can I say...
So I also like fast boats... This speed boat was waiting to get into Penarth Marina.
Connie said she thought these apartments would be expensive. Right on the water front with a marina within walking distance? Too right!
Not quite sure what this next one is, but it's a pretty building.
Another movie clip. I only took two this trip. This is a sailing boat race.
The "Challenge Wales" is obviously a racing yacht. I was surprised to see it there, as the Fastnet race was on that day... Maybe they just didn't do that particular race. Anyway, they were pulling out as we were pulling in. I suspect they do "working trips" where you pay to be a crew member for a day.
Back at the hotel I figured I'd show you guys a little bit of our room...
And the view from it...
Not the best room I've ever had, but by no means the worst. In fact it's up there in the top twenty. As for the view, if you ignore the car park and retail park, well, then there's hills and fields.
The next day dawned like many an English summer day. Grey, damp, overcast and drizzly! So we headed up into the mountains to try and find a local distillery where they gave a short guided tour and then allowed tasting of their products. The gin was a bit too flowery for my taste - had a lot of herbs and spices in it. Actually it tasted like it already had vermouth added: the ultimate dry Martini! Connie doesn't like vodka so we didn't try that. The cream liqueur was to die for. The sherry-finished whisky was okay, but to me, the peated whisky was the best. (I'm using the Scottish spelling because the Penderyn distillery uses that spelling).
I didn't get any photos of the distillery but I did get a bottle of whisky and a bottle of liqueur!
On the way there, we drove through the mountains above Treochy and the Rhondda valley. Great fun in a small car on wet roads with visibility down to about 500 yards... I hate roller coasters!
On the way back we went a different way. We stopped a couple of times to take some photos:
We drove over the mountain in the back ground! (And please, no comments about the mountains over there being a lot bigger. I know that. But anything over 1,000 feet above sea level is officially a mountain under UK law!
Second place we stopped was just so pretty.
There was a big stone with a plaque on it too. I went to see what it was...
It was commemorating the opening of the road...! *eyeroll*
We saw a sign saying "Waterfalls" and thought "Yes!" So we turned off and went to find them. Unfortunately, there was a sign on the gate to the path saying that a tree had blocked the path and it was closed. Had to make do with this:
Tuesday, we went down to Barry, to the South West of Cardiff. Connie had suggested we go to a bird sanctuary there, but when we got there we found that it was open every day except Tuesday! So we went down to Barry Island and the beach...
My family had spent two summer holidays at a Butlins holiday camp on Barry Island back in the early 1970s (or possibly late '60s). The holiday camp itself is long gone, but much of what was there is still there.
The weather, by the way, was scorching.
We cannot resist crazy golf...! Especially a Pirate-themed one!
And this time, I won!
More beach photos, with the tide further out:
This arch used to be the exit from the holiday camp to the beach. I remember it well!
Finally, we crackled our way back to the car park. Yep, we were both pretty crispy, as Connie forgot to pack the sun cream and I forgot to remind her to... On the way back to the car, I took a couple of photos across the now drained "harbour" - not a true harbour but one used by a few small boats.
And that's it for photos.
We did have a bit of drama getting out of the car park... Some silly arse had brought a huge minibus - a big Mercedes Sprinter long wheel base van with windows and seats - into the car park. Now, he'd only got it in because there was a gate that by-passed the height restriction on the entrance, that happened to be open. He couldn't get it out of the parking space he was inm until the people next to him moved. Unfortunately for us, he managed to get it out just in front of us.
The idiot hadn't reckoned on there being a height restriction on the exit too...
Eventually, he persuaded everyone in the queue behind him to back up and let him reverse away from the steel bar that almost took off the roof of the bus! Of course he had to reverse over the "tyre shredders" that are designed to stop people coming in the exit. He was bloody lucky they weren't sharper! When we finally got out of the car park - people in the LOOOONG queue to get out were now being arse-holes and we'd had to go around in a loop to give the guy room - we saw him now stuck again at the entrance. He'd tried to get out the way he got in but the gate was now locked...
Wednesday we checked out of the hotel and headed home, via the Wyevale Garden Centre in Cardiff. Connie wanted to have a look...
Oh, one last thing. After the first night, we refused to eat dinner or lunch in the hotel. We had dinner there Saturday night. Now, I don't mind paying £90 for a meal for two when I'm on holiday, but when I'm paying that much, I expect a whole scallop, not a millimetre thin slice of one, and I expect a whole fillet of plaice, not two pieces of fish 50cm square wrapped in brown paper.
I honestly think that restaurants that serve food like that are taking the piss! They get away with it by giving the dish a fancy name in a foreign language, so you can't say "that's not what I ordered!" Didn't stop me having a go at the waiter over it, though. I was good natured about it, teasing him about using the Birds Eye "boil in the bag" fish dishes...
Anyway, that was our holiday. Now I'm going to bed...
Our hotel was on the western side of Cardiff. Out the back of the hotel was a fair sized artificial lake. The hotel also had a health spa in the basement with gym (didn't use), pool, whirlpool, sauna and steam room (used extensively).
This heron was a frequent visitor to the lake, as was the cormorant swimming nearby. However, neither of them was brave enough to take on "Nessie", as we called him...
We actually saw this monster koi swim bold as brass back and forth in front of the heron, right at the surface. Each time he did, the heron feigned nonchalance, scratching under his chin with a foot... I suspect those two have a history!
Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera handy at the time, but I did get some footage of "Nessie".
For scale, he was about two foot long and at least eight inches in diameter!
On Sunday, we drove into Cardiff Bay. This is a fairly new resort/development on what used to be an industrial/dockland area just south of the centre of Cardiff, built around an area of what used to be wetlands but has been flooded by the building of the Cardiff Bay Barrage. This has effectively created a brackish water lagoon (brackish, for those who don't know, means mixed fresh and salt) as the tide does flow into the bay when it is high enough but the bay is generally above sea level and is fed by two river estuaries.
On the way to the bay itself, we passed the Cardiff Millennium Arts Centre.
It's a giant copper kettle shaped like a computer screen! I'm not sure what the inscription reads, as the part that is apparently in English doesn't make sense and I don't speak Welsh.
A view across the bay.
A modern art sculpture that was actually very interesting. Oh, the sparrow on the dog's ear is real, not part of the sculpture!
A view out of the mouth of one of the dry docks.
This next building caught my eye. While investigating it I met a gentleman who owned the local road-train franchise (a tourist train pulled by a farm tractor disguised as a steam locomotive - sorry I don't have a picture, Google for one if you don't know what I mean). This chap was also a tour guide and was happy to answer my questions about the building.
It was built originally as the stables for the Marquis of Bute, who owned most of South Wales in the nineteenth century and had the original Cardiff Docks constructed. It later became the Pilotage buuilding, from where pilots would go out in small boats to guide bigger ships into harbour. It is now a restaurant.
The weather vane is not part of the original structure, but is a later addition, having been added about ten years ago to commemorate the demise of Cardiff's fishing fleet.
After this, we caught a trip on a water bus that plies between Cardiff Bay and Penarth (on the other side of the bay). Basically it was a half hour boat ride that meant we got to see things we wouldn't have seen, and was good fun!
The Norwegian Church Art Gallery - originally a church built by Norwegian sailors who came to Cardiff on ships bringing pit props (wooden struts for the coal mines in the valleys above Cardiff).
Apparently the Children's Author Roald Dahl (who wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) was baptised there!
Looking back towards Cardiff Bay.
One of many sailing dinghies.
This boat is kicking up quite a "rooster tail". As it wasn't moving that fast, I imagine it's prop is too high...
The "sea lock" at the mouth of the harbour.
Penarth Custom House. I like decent architecture. What can I say...
So I also like fast boats... This speed boat was waiting to get into Penarth Marina.
Connie said she thought these apartments would be expensive. Right on the water front with a marina within walking distance? Too right!
Not quite sure what this next one is, but it's a pretty building.
Another movie clip. I only took two this trip. This is a sailing boat race.
The "Challenge Wales" is obviously a racing yacht. I was surprised to see it there, as the Fastnet race was on that day... Maybe they just didn't do that particular race. Anyway, they were pulling out as we were pulling in. I suspect they do "working trips" where you pay to be a crew member for a day.
Back at the hotel I figured I'd show you guys a little bit of our room...
And the view from it...
Not the best room I've ever had, but by no means the worst. In fact it's up there in the top twenty. As for the view, if you ignore the car park and retail park, well, then there's hills and fields.
The next day dawned like many an English summer day. Grey, damp, overcast and drizzly! So we headed up into the mountains to try and find a local distillery where they gave a short guided tour and then allowed tasting of their products. The gin was a bit too flowery for my taste - had a lot of herbs and spices in it. Actually it tasted like it already had vermouth added: the ultimate dry Martini! Connie doesn't like vodka so we didn't try that. The cream liqueur was to die for. The sherry-finished whisky was okay, but to me, the peated whisky was the best. (I'm using the Scottish spelling because the Penderyn distillery uses that spelling).
I didn't get any photos of the distillery but I did get a bottle of whisky and a bottle of liqueur!
On the way there, we drove through the mountains above Treochy and the Rhondda valley. Great fun in a small car on wet roads with visibility down to about 500 yards... I hate roller coasters!
On the way back we went a different way. We stopped a couple of times to take some photos:
We drove over the mountain in the back ground! (And please, no comments about the mountains over there being a lot bigger. I know that. But anything over 1,000 feet above sea level is officially a mountain under UK law!
Second place we stopped was just so pretty.
There was a big stone with a plaque on it too. I went to see what it was...
It was commemorating the opening of the road...! *eyeroll*
We saw a sign saying "Waterfalls" and thought "Yes!" So we turned off and went to find them. Unfortunately, there was a sign on the gate to the path saying that a tree had blocked the path and it was closed. Had to make do with this:
Tuesday, we went down to Barry, to the South West of Cardiff. Connie had suggested we go to a bird sanctuary there, but when we got there we found that it was open every day except Tuesday! So we went down to Barry Island and the beach...
My family had spent two summer holidays at a Butlins holiday camp on Barry Island back in the early 1970s (or possibly late '60s). The holiday camp itself is long gone, but much of what was there is still there.
The weather, by the way, was scorching.
We cannot resist crazy golf...! Especially a Pirate-themed one!
And this time, I won!
More beach photos, with the tide further out:
This arch used to be the exit from the holiday camp to the beach. I remember it well!
Finally, we crackled our way back to the car park. Yep, we were both pretty crispy, as Connie forgot to pack the sun cream and I forgot to remind her to... On the way back to the car, I took a couple of photos across the now drained "harbour" - not a true harbour but one used by a few small boats.
And that's it for photos.
We did have a bit of drama getting out of the car park... Some silly arse had brought a huge minibus - a big Mercedes Sprinter long wheel base van with windows and seats - into the car park. Now, he'd only got it in because there was a gate that by-passed the height restriction on the entrance, that happened to be open. He couldn't get it out of the parking space he was inm until the people next to him moved. Unfortunately for us, he managed to get it out just in front of us.
The idiot hadn't reckoned on there being a height restriction on the exit too...
Eventually, he persuaded everyone in the queue behind him to back up and let him reverse away from the steel bar that almost took off the roof of the bus! Of course he had to reverse over the "tyre shredders" that are designed to stop people coming in the exit. He was bloody lucky they weren't sharper! When we finally got out of the car park - people in the LOOOONG queue to get out were now being arse-holes and we'd had to go around in a loop to give the guy room - we saw him now stuck again at the entrance. He'd tried to get out the way he got in but the gate was now locked...
Wednesday we checked out of the hotel and headed home, via the Wyevale Garden Centre in Cardiff. Connie wanted to have a look...
Oh, one last thing. After the first night, we refused to eat dinner or lunch in the hotel. We had dinner there Saturday night. Now, I don't mind paying £90 for a meal for two when I'm on holiday, but when I'm paying that much, I expect a whole scallop, not a millimetre thin slice of one, and I expect a whole fillet of plaice, not two pieces of fish 50cm square wrapped in brown paper.
I honestly think that restaurants that serve food like that are taking the piss! They get away with it by giving the dish a fancy name in a foreign language, so you can't say "that's not what I ordered!" Didn't stop me having a go at the waiter over it, though. I was good natured about it, teasing him about using the Birds Eye "boil in the bag" fish dishes...
Anyway, that was our holiday. Now I'm going to bed...