Cardiff Things to Do Tips by mindcrime

St David Cathedral

St David cathedral was built in 1842 after the massive arrival of 12,000 catholic people from Ireland. It’s a roman catholic cathedral It was dedicated to the Patron of Wales Saint David after the request of Lady Catherine Eyre of Bath who was the main benefactress.

We took a picture of the cathedral (pic 1), I got surprised how good it looks considering the fact that it was seriously damaged by bombing during WWII. We entered inside where there was no one else but us. The interior isn’t impressive (pic 2) but we spend some time checking some statues and some nice stained glass windows.

There are some useful signs that give information about the statues or the figures on the vitro windows. Pic 4 shows Fathers John Lloyd and Philip Evan were known as the Cardiff Martyrs. They were hung, drawn and quartered on 22/7/1679 probably at Roath district.

The cathedral houses 3 choirs(Boys’ choir, junior girls’ choir, senior girls’ choir) but we didn’t attend any of their performances.

Opposite the Cathedral (at 33-53 Charles St) you can see Ebenezer chapel (pic 5). It was built in 1855 as a congregational church with ballast from coal ships returning from Middle East.

Unfortunately it was closed so I could check the interior, I’ve read somewhere that it was sold and wont open again but I’m not sure about that as the sign outside still shows the timetable of the week masses. The chapel has a nice organ according to my book but I guess they will sell that too...

Address: 38 Charles St, Cardiff CF102SF

Phone: 029-20231407

Website: http://www.cardiffmetropolitancathedral.org.uk/

Walk down the Junction canal to Cardiff Bay

Most of the visitors skip walking to Cardiff Bay because they think it’s far and dangerous.
Hopefully we walked and didn’t regret it as we came along a lovely canal that makes the area (Atlantic Wharf) look like a Little Venice but don’t expect gondolas of course :)

We didn’t feel uncomfortable in any case (ok, you better skip it during the night) and it was so calm and peaceful, a different world, the locals that live here are very lucky, you could hear only the noise of some ducks and some other strange birds :)

Junction canal is part of a former much bigger canal (Glamorganshire Canal) that was bringing goods away from the Cardiff valley, later the railway came and the docks (and the canal which closed in 1951) disappeared. Actually the Junction canal was a link between Bute East and West Docks and the Sea Lock Pond.

We walked next to several waterways, there are small foot bridges here and there (some wooden, some stone ones) and taking numerous pictures of the birds. The locals told us that it was just an ugly industrialized area once but it looks lovely after the housing development.

Cathays

The only thing we knew about Cathays was that it was full of students as the main student area (most of the university buildings are there I guess).

So we walked there one afternoon, we liked the streets that were lined with nice buildings(pics 1-2) and we passed by the ugly Cathays train station (pic 3) at the other side of the train lines. We visited some of the cafes but we also saw some churches along the way like St Andrews Crescent(pic4) and the City United Reformed Church(pic5) closer to the city centre when we visited Wetherspoon Pub(check my restaurant tip) that is called The Central Bar due to Central Congregational Chapel that was built on the spot of the pub in 1901 (the Congregational Union was formed in 1832).

By 1914 there were about 60 non conformist chapels in Cardiff serving the protestants or independents outside the Church of England. The United Reformed Church that we saw was built in 1860 and was an English Presbyterian Church first. They have free lunchtime concerts every third Wednesday of every month.

Directions: 10’ walk from the city center

Ships and a norwegian church! Cardiff Bay AKA Tiger Bay Review

Next to Pierhead Building you can see the Senedd which is the National Assembly for Wales, the local parliament. It’s a modern structure that faces the waterfront. You can enter inside for free and even listen to a debate.

We decided to walk further and check the Light Ship 2000 (pic 1). It’s a lovely red lightship that was built in 1950s and today (fully restored) can be visited for free (if places like the engine room is of any interest for you). It is used for charity reasons, it houses some exhibitions and also included an area for worship, even a small chapel! Nothing really special about it but you can enjoy a coffee at the onboard cafe. Maybe I should have put this under restaurant tips after all :)

In front of the Lightship you can see some weird structures (pic 2), you can walk along the paths (pic 3) and explore the bay, you can take a water taxi to the city center or to Penarth. By the way you can walk across to Penarth by the barrage coast path. If we ever return to Cardiff we will rent a bicycle.

At Cardiff Bay we found another interesting “boat”, it’s actually a sculpture of a small boat that has the shape of a face in one side! (pic 4)

Finally, we visited the Norwegian church (pic 5), a nice structure that was built in 1868 for the Norwegian sailors although first it was built 1,5km away from its current location (it was transferred here in 1987). It houses a small gallery but it was under renovation and we couldn’t get inside :(

Address: Cardiff Bay, Butetown, Cardiff, CF10

Directions: About 1,5km from the city centre, you can easily walk there or take bus No.6

Website: http://www.norwegianchurchcardiff.com

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay AKA Tiger Bay Review

I had more expectations about Cardiff Bay, although it was nice to walk around we didn’t really feel that we had to stay more than a few hours there, especially at the main part where all the chain restaurants are. Definitely it’s not like Barcelona’s port but still worth a visit.

Of course in our days its more interesting that a typical port that it was some years before (before WWII was one of the largest ones in the world but the coal industry declined after that). The large development of the area that started in 1999 brings now a lot of visitors during the warm months.

First we visited the huge impressive building (pic 1) that houses the Millennium Center. We went there because we wanted to take some maps from the Information Center but it also houses a venue for concerts, west end shows, opera, cinema and many stores and restaurants. It was built in 2004 with a strange design (different layers) and houses different theatre rooms for every possible show and event. There are 60’ tours of the building but we didn’t try it.

Then we moved towards the bay, and we took some pictures (pics 2-3) before we start to explore the area. There is a large basin just behind the barrage to protect the area from tides’ effects.
We also had breakfast at one of the numerous cafés that you can find at Mermaid Quay(pic 4), an area full of restaurants, cafes and bars right in front of the bay where you suppose to go for relax.

The most interesting building at Cardiff Bay is the Pierhead Building (pic 5). It was built at the end of 19th century (1897) in french gothic style with an attractive terracota exterior. It housed the offices of the Bute Dock company and unofficially is called Big Ben of Wales! Inside you can visit a small free museum about welsh history.

Address: Cardiff Bay, Butetown, Cardiff, CF10

Directions: About 1,5km from the city centre, you can easily walk there or take bus No.6

Website: http://www.wmc.org.uk/

Sun clock

In front of the Cardiff Central Library or better in front of St Lewis store we saw a huge structure that looks like a sun clock (pics 1&2).

The problem was that on a cloudy day like the one we passed by we couldn’t really see how it works or even if it is a sun clock. :)

Later in the night we passed by again and took a nice picture of it with all the lights etc so it was more picturesque (pic 3)

Same applies for some other buildings during the night, when we walked back to the city center we loved the way St John the Baptist church looks (pic 4)

Directions: in front of Cardiff Central Library

Statue of John Batchelor

John Batchelor (1820-1883) wasn’t born in Cardiff but became popular here as a merchant and later as a liberal politician and a mayor of Cardiff. He was in “war” with the Butes (who supported the Tory party) and probably John Batchelor’s shipbuilding business collapsed because of this conflict. Anyway, we took a picture of his statue that was made in 1886 by sculptor James Milo Griffith. Under Batchelor’s name it reads “The Friend of Freedom” (He fought against slavery for many years)

Then we saw a store with the front window full of sewing machines!! (pic 2). We walked a bit more towards the bay and we saw a church (pic 3). It’s Tabernacl, a welsh Baptist Church. It was built in 1821 and rebuild in 1865. We didn’t check the interior. Services in welsh on Sunday at 10.30 & 18.00

Next to the church we noticed another beautiful building, actually a bar/restaurant but what we liked was the way it was litted during the night(pic 4).

Walking back to the city center we loved the way St John the Baptist church looks in the night (pic 5)

Website: http://www.tabernaclecardiff.org/r-nav/1.jsp

Old Library

At the back side of St John church you can see a small but beautiful square (no matter how I tried I couldn’t find the name of the square), full with flowers and colorful trees (pic 1), The square where some old people relax during the day faces the building of the Old Library (pic 2) that opened back in 1882.

The Old Library (pics 3&4) is worth a visit anyway because it houses the Cardiff Tourist Information Centre but also a bar with the same name. Some times you can find small exhibitions at the Old Library. The Information Center is open daily 9.30-17.30 (till 16.00 on Sundays)

Address: The Hayes, Cardiff, CF10 1BH

Directions: The Old Library is situated on the Hayes in Cardiff city centre. The main entrance is on Working Street, through the Cardiff Visitors Centre.

Phone: 02920873573

Website: http://www.visitcardiff.com

St John The Baptist Church

The City Parish Church of Cardiff St John the Baptist is probably the most popular church among the visitors as it is located at the city center in the middle of the pedestrian street next to Cardiff Market. It dates from the 12th century and that makes it the oldest remaining medieval building after Cardiff Castle

St John the Baptist was the man sent by God to prepare the way for the coming of Jesus. He called people to turn from their sinful ways and remake their relationship with God and as a sign of their desire to do this he led them into the river Jordan and poured water over each person’s head. Near the main door you can see the Baptismal Font (pic 2) that symbolizes this. Next to the font is a second font concealed to the floor, it’s big enough to take water for the baptism of an adult by immersion.

Sometimes ancient churches that were dedicated to St John were built with the interior slightly lower than outside so we had to step down into it as if into the river Jordan! (pic 3)

The interior is simple (pic 4) but there are some nice vitro windows. Window at Pic 5 made by Rust’s Glass and shows Christ blessing the little children.

It is open for prayer Monday to Saturday 10.00-15.00

Sunday services include Sung Eucharist & Sunday School(10.00), Evening Prayer with Hymns(18.00)
Some times they organise organ concerts but we didn’t attend any. There’s also a tea room but we didn’t visit it.

Address: St Johns Lane

Directions: Next to city centre’s covered market

Phone: 02920395231

Website: http://www.cardiffstjohncityparish.org.uk

Queen street

Most of the people will put Queen street under shopping tips which is logical as this is the main commercial street of Cardiff with a lot of stores selling expensive clothes although we also noticed HMV for music etc.

While my wife enjoyed her long walk around the countless stores with clothes I walked down Queen street. I was surprised by some interesting bronze statues here and there and after a while I realized that they are all made by the same sculpture. A sign at the other side of the street reviled the mystery:
“The Cardiff Council has specially commissioned this unique set of bronze statues by Robert Thomas as part of its 2005 Anniversary Celebration to mark Cardiff’s Centenary as a City and its half century as the Capital of Wales”

Robert Thomas was born in Cwmparc, Rhondda in August 1926. He left his job as a colliery electrician to persue his dream of becoming a professional sculptor in 1947 and began his daily train journeys to Cardiff Art School – then only a short walk north of Queen street. He moved to London in 1949 to train at the Royal College of Art and continued to live in London for over 20 years, working on lrage-scale statues and a series of portraits of eminent Welsh people. In 1963 he won a national sculpture competition and produced his first public art work, “Mother And Son” which now stands near the entrance to Queens Arcade. He returned to Wales in 1971 and created large and small works at his studio in Barry up to his death in May 1999.

Here are the statues I saw starting from the beginning of Queen Street:
Aneuan Bevan (1987) pic 2
Mother And Son(1963) pic 3
Family(1985)
Miner(1993) pic 1

Check some other sculptures by R.Thomas at St David’s Hall (“Diana, Princess of Wales”,1987), at Gorsedd Gardens(“Girl”, 1969), at New Theatre(“Gwyn Thomas”1983)

Address: city center