The first thing to say about Cardiff is that the parking is horrendous. Naturally in any city parking is expensive but £7.50 for two hours? I almost shat myself with shock and told Suz under very strict circumstances, that we had to be back in two hours and not a second more! I wasn’t going to pay £11.50 for 2 hours and 1 second. Once we got over the cost of parking we explored the city.
At Cardiff Bay you’ll find the usual shops, restaurants and cafes you find at most waterfronts. But at Cardiff Bay you’ll also find:
- The National Assembly for Wales
- The Millennium Centre
- The Doctor Who Experience
- A bright orange church (The Bay Church)
The Bay is also host to a wide range of water sports and events throughout the year. When we visited they were busy building a floating football pitch and setting up for The One show who were visiting to see some all boys choir… zzzzz.
Suz and I hopped on a boat trip that went around the bay, we also went to see the Millennium Centre which is architecturally lovely. I was intrigued to see The Doctor Who Experience but having not watched the show since River Song left I decided against it. Also I couldn’t put Suz through that, it would make for a very difficult 4 and a half hour drive back to London. A local told us that some people only visit Wales for Doctor Who… Well, I’m sure they lead very happy and fulfilling lives.
The Castle
Cardiff castle is one of the first things that comes up when you Google things to do in Cardiff. It’s one of Wale’s leading heritage sites and is of international significance, apparently. Within the castle walls are a series of tunnels which were used as air-raid shelters during WW2. An estimated 1800 people who worked and lived in Cardiff took shelter in the tunnels. The castle stands at the top of the high street on a little hill behind the large castle walls. Its £12.50 to get in plus £3.25 for a house tour which is a sort of average price. There’s also a gift shop which is, as we all know, is the best bits about visiting a castle.
City Centre & The Stadium
Having been to many cities in the UK I found Cardiff to be slightly on the smaller side. It was nice actually; especially as it meant that there wasn’t many people around. I was told that in two weeks time the city would be full due to some football bollocks (uefa final or something) but normally it’s not too busy.
It might’ve been because it was a sunday but a lot of shops were closed and some looked like they were closed down. There’s a wide choice of restaurants and we passed a few bars which, again, were full of football bollocks. We had lunch outside and the first of many homeless/drug users came and begged us for money. During our two hours we were asked another five times for money. One man even told us that he’d been arrested that very morning for drunk and disorderly behaviour, as if that would somehow persuade us to give him money. He also said that the Welsh police were arseholes. I’m sure they would say the same thing about him.
Nearer the stadium (more football bollocks, it was EVERYWHERE!) the city became a bit more run down, dirty and a little bit threatening. Lots of drug addicts with Staffies if you get what I mean.
Overall Cardiff was nice to visit but I don’t feel any need to visit the city ever again. Sorry.