Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
even see it from the ramparts of Cardiff Castle, which is fitting as both were holiday
homes for the fabulously rich third Marquess of Bute. He presided over the flamboy-
ant Victorian rebuild of a medieval castle ruin to create a
Harry
Potter-
esque fantasy
that clings to the mountainside and is approached through a thick forest overlooking
a gorge in the Taff Valley. Like its city cousin, the interior is a sumptuous Arts and
Crafts-style interpretation of medieval decor. Scenes from Aesop's Fables decorate
the walls and ceilings of the living rooms while the bedrooms are each an individual
fantasy. There are spiral staircases and even a working portcullis and drawbridge.
Tongwynlais.
&
029/2081-0101.
www.cadw.cymru.gov.uk. Admission £3.70 adults, £3.50 children 15
and under. Daily generally 9:30am-5.30pm; slightly longer July-Aug, shorter Nov-Feb. Bus: 132 from
Cardiff leaves every 30 min. (every 60 min. on Sun) for Tongwynlais, a half-mile away.
Dyffryn Gardens
GARDEN Only several miles from the city but deep in the Vale
of Glamorgan, these Edwardian gardens cover 22 hectares (55 acres). Centrepoint is
a collection of gardens, all clipped hedges, lovely brickwork, and formal planting, but
there are also neat lawns, seasonal planting, and an arboretum with trees from around
the world. There's been intensive effort to restore the 1906 glory of leading designer
Thomas Mawson. A tearoom sits on the banks of a stream.
St. Nicholas, Vale of Glamorgan.
&
029/2059-3328.
www.dyffryngardens.org.uk. £6.50 adults (£3.25
winter), children 5-15 £2.50 (£1.25 winter). Daily Mar-Oct 10am-6pm; Nov-Feb 10am-4pm.
Llandaff Cathedral
CATHEDRAL You can feel the history creeping up on
you at one of the oldest Christian sites in Britain, where there was a community as
far back as the 6th century. The current cathedral dates from the start of the 12th
century, and accumulated classic features down the centuries. From the West Front
(a medieval work of art) through Italian Temple touches from the 1700s to Sir Jacob
Epstein's aluminum statue
Christ in Majesty,
part of the rebirth following a World War
II bomb. The cathedral sits on the western edge of the city, on a green with a village
atmosphere surrounded by timbered buildings.
Cathedral Rd.
&
029/2056-4554.
www.llandaffcathedral.org.uk. Free admission. Daily 7am-7pm. Call
for times of services. Bus: 25, 33, 33A, or 62.
St. Fagans: National History Museum
MUSEUM This wonderful open-
air museum has more than 40 historic Welsh buildings from around the country,
restored to their former glory, on the 40-hectare (100-acre) grounds of St. Fagans
Castle. It's so beautifully laid-out that you really do feel as though you're skipping
down country lanes, walking down the high street of a century-old village, or being
transported back to the Middle Ages. There's a farm, school, chapel, and ironmon-
ger's, as well as Celtic huts with fires burning, and with shields and swords for chil-
dren to wield. Traditional craftsmen, such as the potter, are at work and native breeds
of farm animals graze in the fields. You'll find it to be less a museum than an explora-
tion, before you return to the main building with its galleries devoted to history, tex-
tiles, agriculture, and costumes. The castle is actually a 16th-century mansion built
inside a Norman castle wall, with formal gardens, now restored.
St. Fagans.
&
029/2057-3500.
www.museumwales.ac.uk. Free admission, but charge for parking lot.
Daily 10am-5pm. Bus: 32 or 320, leaving from the bus station in Cardiff every hour during the day.
Where to Eat
MODERATE
Armless Dragon
WELSH About 1 mile north of the main streets, the Dragon is
known for the best in Welsh produce. “Taste of Wales” dishes include an antipasto of
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