Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The
banqueting hall
boasts Bute family heraldic shields and a fantastically over-the-top
fireplace (look for the image of the imprisoned Duke of Normandy) and is overlooked by
that medieval must-have, a minstrels' gallery. Marble, sandalwood, parrots and acres of
gold leaf create an elaborate Moorish look in the
Arab room
. The neighbouring
nursery
is
decorated with fairy-tale and nursery-rhyme characters, while the
small dining room
has an
ingenious table, designed so that a living vine could be slotted through it, allowing diners
to pluck fresh grapes as they ate. The Roman-style
roof garden
seems to underline how
much of a fantasy all this really was - designed with southern Italy in mind, rather than
Wales.
Some, but not all, of these rooms can be accessed with a regular castle entry, which in-
cludes an excellent audio guide (available in a children's edition and in a range of lan-
guages). Start your visit by viewing the short film, screened in a room above the gift ship,
which provides a wordless representation of the castle's journey through history. Leading
off from here is a
WWII air raid shelter
preserved in a long cold corridor within the castle
walls.
Housed below the ticket office is
Firing Line
, a small but well-organised museum de-
voted to the Welsh soldier.
Bute Park
( 7.30am-sunset)
Flanked by the castle and the River Taff, Bute Park was donated to the
city along with the castle in 1947. With Sophia Gardens, Pontcanna Fields and Llandaff
Fields, it forms a green corridor that stretches northwest for 1½ miles to Llandaff. All
were once part of the Bute's vast holdings.
stone figures of lions, seals, bears and other creatures. It was designed by castle architect
William Burges but only completed in 1892 after his death, with more animals added in
the 1920s. In the 1930s they were the subject of a newspaper cartoon strip and many
Cardiff kids grew up thinking the animals came alive at night.
In Cooper's Field, the part of the park just west of the castle, is a stone circle, erected in
1978 when Cardiff hosted the National Eisteddfod. Such so-called
gorsedd stones
OFFLINE MAP
PARK
GOOGLE MAP
are found all over Wales where eisteddfods have been held.
