Cardiff – April 2017

8.00 on Tuesday morning, Tesco’s bus stop, bleary eyed. It must be one of Brian’s adventures again. Cardiff this time, almost abroad. Our brand new coach arrives, well not quite true, its maiden voyage was to France last week, the clock at the front is still on French time, for the next five days we’ll be ahead of ourselves. We set out on time in bright sunshine, what could possibly go wrong? At that well known beauty spot, Caenby Corner, our driver, Ian, announces that he has a cunning plan to avoid the traffic in Lincoln. Sure enough, in no time at all we are sailing past Newark, metaphorically speaking (we did it for real in a previous life with Brian).

Our first stop was at Leicester North services, a first for everyone, including Ian. A bit like its cousin at Leicester Forest East but much smaller and quieter, heartily recommended. Onward again, heading for our favourite lunch stop at Evesham Garden Centre and time for a little retail therapy. By mid afternoon we were already in Wales and heading for our first destination, Caerphilly Castle. After a fascinating tour of the back streets of Abergavenny we found the Heads of the Valleys road; and the roadworks! It looked as though we wouldn’t reach the the castle (or castel in Welsh, we’re quite fluent already) before 4.30 and they closed at 5.00. Plan B – we followed in the PMs footsteps and took a vote, tea and biscuits at the hotel won resoundingly. Dinner tonight was in a private dining room in the hotel, entertained by a young lady, Eluned Henry, playing the Welsh Harp (made in the USA – the harp not the lady), a lovely introduction to Cardiff.

To our surprise breakfast on Wednesday morning was enjoyed in the company of a group of American tourists. Promptly at 9.30 we were met by our guide for a walking tour of the city, to be followed by a tour of the bay area on the coach. Our delightful guide, Stella, informed us that her first language was Welsh!!! Not to worry, her second language, English, was perfect. We spent a vey pleasant hour wandering the streets and enjoying the architecture, ancient and modern. Brian pointed out Cardiff Arms Park, our venue for the next evening, and we saw the castle, very interesting but not as big as the Arms Park. Back at the hotel we boarded our coach for a very enjoyable tour of Cardiff Bay, an area that has been totally renovated in the last 20 years, with excellent tourist facilities and many striking buildings. A barrage across the bay now prevents the water from disappearing into the Bristol Channel twice a day, and forms a huge area for water sports and marinas. Apparently FIFA are holding a conference in the area in the near future and one of the highlights will be a celebrity football match on the bay (unless it’s waterlogged). After a pub lunch we were off to Llandaff Cathedral, the principal church in Wales. Nothing could have prepared us for the impact as we walked through the entrance. The Cathedral is much like any other, but right in the centre is a huge modern Epstein sculpture that quite takes the breath away.

We awoke to beautiful sunshine on Thursday, no sign of our transatlantic cousins at breakfast, they had done Wales. Off to Duffryn Gardens this morning, to be welcomed by a U3A group from Sully (it’s somewhere in the Vale of Glamorgan). The house and garden have recently been aquired by the National Trust and a tremendous amount of work is underway to renovate it, should be quite stunning in a couple of years time. At last we get to visit a castle this afternoon. We were welcomed to Fonmon Castle by Casey, the estate manager, who explained that the usual guide was not available and she did not really know the history but she would do her best, then proceeded to tell us everything about the place and the two families who had owned it since the 11th century. Tea and cakes in a beautiful room in the castle made a perfect end to our visit. This evening we were planned to attend a rehearsal by the Cardiff Arms Park Male Voice Choir in the Arms Park, unfortunately the venue had to be changed to a large room in a local hotel. The “rehearsal” became our very own half-hour concert!  Hearing a Welsh male voice choir on the television doesn’t quite prepare you for the real experience, quite astounding and moving.

Friday, our final day in Cardiff, began at the Royal Mint. Our guide, Geraint, had obviously done it all before but was very entertaining. We took up his offer of a group photograph in front of a million pounds, that’s a lot of £1 coins. Sadly when we saw the photo later only half of us were on it, that’s inflation for you! This afternoon the Welsh Assembly are to be graced with our presence. Unfortunately they are all on holiday, but that means we have the building to ourselves. Gareth, our charming young guide, is a mine of information and we get to see just about all of the building. It is a very impressive modern construction of wood, lots of glass and, of course, slate. The facilities even include a pleasant restaurant for visitors, in fact they seem not only to welcome visitors but to actively encourage them.

All too soon it’s Saturday and time to go home, but not quite yet. Not one to drive past an attraction, our intrepid leader had planned a visit to Caerleon, a partially restored Roman site only a few miles away. We were amazed at the extent of the site but the highlight of the visit was the superbly recreated Roman Baths, definitely worth a look if you are in the area. The return journey was much the same as outbound but via the Severn Bridge, it’s free to leave Wales, you only pay to enter. Now there’s an idea! No, we don’t do politics. By now we are almost on first name terms with the staff at Evesham and a very pleasant lunch was enjoyed sitting outside in the sunshine. On behalf of everyone, thanks to Brian for a most entertaining five days, and for arranging the weather.