Cardiff

In the past, we've visited quite a few areas of Wales: we've climbed Snowdon, sailed 'The Swellies' (got to love that name) in the Menai Strait, walked on spectacular beaches, visited enchanting Portmeirion and many other coastal villages. What we've seen so far has only whetted our appetite for more though. Wales is a fascinating country with plenty of history and natural beauty. Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, is only a one hour train journey from Bristol and we recently went for a visit, planning to walk the six mile circular footpath around Cardiff Bay.

Alighting at the main train station meant an additional walk of about one km, through some rather depressing housing estates, to the waterfront where things improved greatly. The waterfront area is still under development, but, the scale of the development is quite staggering. They've actually enclosed Cardiff Bay from the sea with a man-made Barrage and lock system. As a result, the Bay is now fresh water. You have to wonder about the environmental impact of this and there was significant controversy at the time (mostly about construction cost, not environmental impact), but, the Bay was probably always brackish anyway as two significant rivers, the Taff and Ely, drain into it. There is a fish ladder so the fish can still bypass the locks and get in and out. For humans, it has become a lovely place for sheltered sailing, walking and cycling.

First on the path was a mixed area of new bars, restaurants and entertainments alongside the old Pierhead Building, built in 1897.

...behind which was the new Wales Millenium Centre.

We then made our way along the barrage, with the sea on one side and the Bay on the other.

Along the way was a large display of picture boards noting that Cardiff was the departure point of Captain Scott's ill-fated expedition to be first to the South Pole which resulted in death for him and four of his crewmembers. His expedition ship left from this point on June 15, 1910.

At the end of the Barrage, past the locks, was part of the old harbour complex consisting of a rather nice Custom House, now converted into two restaurants and beside it, in an enviable location, a very beautiful  ruin, just waiting for someone to purchase it and hopefully make a go of it.

Heading back to town, we came across the Cardiff International White Water centre.

If you're not familiar with this type of complex, they consist of a man-made 'river' of white water to learn and practice moving water skills in a controlled environment. The level, force and path of the water can all be adjusted. We got there just at the right time to see groups coming down in all types of craft.

This open canoe came down backwards with a kayaker on guard.

Their second attempt was better.

This raft smashed into the barrier at the top, went vertical and then right over spilling the people into the water. When this picture was snapped, a couple of people were still underneath the raft, not a fun place to be.

This raft executed their transit perfectly which resulted in relaxed-looking big smiles all round!

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Offa's Dyke Path

On yet another glorious autumn day (how much longer can it last?!), we headed out to walk the southernmost ten miles of the Offa's Dyke Path, another of the fifteen National Trails in England and Wales. Starting out from Bristol, we took the bus to Chepstow, the southern terminus. Chepstow is also the start of the Wales Coast Path which incorporates another of the fifteen National Trails, the Pembrokeshire Coast Path. Chepstow, as detailed in the previous post, was a great destination in its own right, but, our day's walk beckoned and so we quickly headed out of town.

We hadn't given much thought to the rather unusual name of the path, but, it turns out that 'Offa' was actually a person, an Anglo-Saxon king of Mercia from 757 to 796. The 'dyke' part of the name refers to an earthen bank and ditch that he ordered built. It was about 150 miles long, 20m wide and 2.5m high and was dug by hand and completed in the eighth century. Nobody really knows why it was built and from the portion we viewed it didn't seem like it would have been very effective to repel Welsh invaders, if that was the intent. The National Trail, 177 miles long, mostly follows the route of the dyke and the current English/Welsh border.

Along the way, views of the River Wye were spectacular...

...as was this view of the ruins of Tintern Abbey, from the Devil's Pulpit lookout.

The trail was varied: from shady forest paths...

...through to imposing country estates.

We were only out for a day's walk, so left the path at the village of Brockweir where we could catch a bus back to Chepstow. Unexpectedly coming across this 14th century monk's house was a great end to another great day out. Later, looking it up online for more historical information, imagine my surprise that you can rent this property as a holiday let! From the website, it looks like they've done a fabulous job on the interior. Have a look, The website states that it is a:

"...truly historic building, which once belonged to the monks of Tintern Abbey, and which is believed to be the oldest house in the Wye Valley, this beautiful property bears witness to the passage of many centuries. Originally a 12th-century monks’ hall with an ‘undercroft’ below for animals, and extended in the 14th-century, Monks Hall has recently been carefully renovated and furnished to provide a romantic, atmospheric place to stay."

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Chepstow, Wales

We were heading out for the day to walk the southernmost ten mile portion of the Offa's Dyke National Trail (more on that in the next post) and started with a bus from Bristol to Chepstow. As the bus wove its way over the Severn River Bridge we seemed to cross the England/Wales border multiple times and we realized we weren't sure which country Chepstow is in. Actually, it's in both. The main town is in Wales, on the western bank of the river Wye, while the adjoining villages on the eastern bank of the river are in England. The town turned out to be a delightful surprise, worthy of a visit in its own right, having been a medieval port with a walled town and the oldest surviving stone castle in Britain.

The dramatic castle ruin is perched on the limestone cliffs overlooking the River Wye.

Seen from the town side, the castle looks more intact.

The riverside area adjacent to the Castle had interesting sights as well. This elegant cast iron bridge was built in 1816.

Across the river we could see the Gloucester Hole, an enlarged natural hole in the limestone cliff opposite. Forming a natural warehouse, cargo used to be unloaded from ships anchored to the wall. It must have been a nightmare for ancient (and modern) boats trying to navigate this river. The tides are the fastest on earth and can rise 13 metres (43 ft.) in just four hours. The tides at Chepstow and the Severn Estuary are second in height only to the Bay of Fundy in Canada. The river 'reverses' and changes direction of flow four times a day.

The town itself was not to be outdone. The town gate and part of the wall is still intact.

The high street was busy with many small specialty shops. Civic pride was evident everywhere. Something we've not seen in any other town are the plaques set into the pavement giving the history of the use and occupancy of the shop it marked, so interesting and what a great idea....

Some of the art installations were also unique...

Many narrow, quaint streets were just waiting to be explored.

We didn't spend as long as we would have liked in Chepstow, our day's walk was beckoning, but, it was such an interesting place we may come back to have a better look!

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