Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 029-2070 2512;
www.thefigtreepenarth.co.uk
;
The Esplanade; mains £11-19, 1-/2-/3-course lunch £7.50/11/14;
noon-3pm & 6.30-9.30pm Tue-Fri, 6.30-9.30pm Sat)
The name might sound like it has Mediter-
ranean delusions but this Fig Tree is a Welsh affair, with a commitment to sourcing most
of its products from within 30 miles of the restaurant. It's a great place to tuck into Welsh
lamb, turkey, mussels and cheese, and the waterfront location and reasonably priced lunch
menu gears it perfectly towards day-trippers.
Getting There & Away
Cardiff buses 92, 93 and 94 (£1.70, 20 minutes, every 15 minutes Monday to Saturday,
hourly Sunday and evenings) run to Penarth, and there are frequent trains from Cardiff
Central (one way/return £2.50/3.50, 20 minutes).
Cardiff Aquabus
( 029-2034 5163;
www.cardiffaquabus.com
)
departs Penarth Marina for Mermaid
Quay at 10.20am, returning from Mermaid Quay at 5.30pm.
You can walk or cycle along the barrage from Cardiff Bay to Penarth Marina (allow 40
minutes on foot). From here it's a steep but short walk up to the town centre and down
again to the pier.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Barry (Y Barri)
POP 51,500
Nowhere have the recent triumphs of the BBC Wales television department been more
keenly felt than in Barry, a seaside town 8 miles southwest of Cardiff. If you watch
Doc-
tor Who
or
Being Human
, you'll no doubt be aware that the town is infested with aliens,
zombies, ghosts, werewolves and vampires. Yet it's the massive popularity of the altogeth-
er more down-to-earth comedy
Gavin & Stacey
that has given the town a new caché. The
staff at Island Leisure (on the Promenade) are used to fans of the show making a pilgrim-
age to the booth where Nessa (played in the show by co-writer Ruth Jones) worked. Other
sites include nearby Marco's Cafe, where Stacey worked, and Trinity St, where Stacey's
mum and Uncle Bryn lived.
The real attraction here is Barry Island, which is well signposted at the south end of the
town. It stopped being a real island in the 1880s when it was joined to the mainland by a
causeway. Amusement arcades and fun parks line the waterfront at sandy Whitmore Bay,
which is easily the best beach this side of the Gower.
