Jetstreams over London by Lindsay du Plessis
Articles & Stories Travel Articles A Postcard(iff) From Wales
| A Postcard(iff) From Wales |
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 Cardiff has a hard time of it, as far as I can tell. The English don’t like it because they think it’s backward and small (they see the rest of Wales this way too) and not at all worthy of being a capital city. Many Welsh people dislike it because it’s too English, without the character of other Welsh cities. I quite liked it, actually. It’s not too big that you need weeks to see the attractions, and it’s not so small that it has no attractions at all. In fact, Cardiff Castle is one of the most interesting, yet kitsch and tacky, places I’ve ever seen. Interestingly, for a country the size of my back garden, Wales has one of the highest ratios of castles to people in the world. There are roughly 600 castles of all shapes and sizes, some of which are among the oldest in the world. If you like castles, you’ll like Wales.  Cardiff Castle is in the centre of the city, across the road from every conceivable tourist shop in one street. It has seen three incarnations, the earliest dating back to Roman times, where it was a fort on the River Taff. In the 11th century, the Normans took over for a while and the castle was bandied about between nobles until 1766. Then, in the 18th century, the man who owned the whole of the vale of Glamorgan (most of south Wales), the Marques of Bute, took residence. He hired an interior decorator to spiff the place up, and surrounded himself with gold, marble and medieval finery. The décor is so bold that you’re likely to get a headache after a while. Caerphilly Castle is an hour outside Cardiff and is one of the largest moated residences in the world, second only to Windsor Castle. Castle Coch is what Disney must have based their Magic Kingdom on, as it has the turrets and pointy spires to enchant any fairy princess. (Do kids still dream about being fairy princesses these days?) My favourite place, possibly because I got out of the city on the one sunny day that week, was Tintern Abbey in the Wye Valley. The trip there is as scenic as anywhere in the world. The land lies in peaks and troughs, like an emerald velvet curtain flung to the floor.  The abbey is one of Wales’s most famous attractions, and for good reason. Even if you’re not particularly religious, the audio tour (essential) will create a picture of the 13th century lives of the Cistercian monks with photographic detail. The ruin is rebuilt in your mind, so that you can fully appreciate the scale and magnificence of the architecture. The setting doesn’t hurt, in the middle of the valley on the river bank. There are also woodland walking trails for the more energetic tourists. Continuing with the history lesson, but with a bit more action, the place to visit is St Fagans Museum of Welsh Life. It’s fascinating and interactive, set on a sprawling estate 10 minutes outside Cardiff. You need the whole day to take in this massive memorial to the country’s history, so little kids might get bored. Then again, they might not, considering that there are people dressed up in costume, doing all the things that built the country through the ages, like coal mining, cider making and it’s trademark music. It’s such a cliché to say that Wales is musical and poetic, but it is. The accent is rhythmic, with the end of every sentence dragged out for full effect. The Welsh language is complicated, impossible to pronounce and completely misleading in its spellings. It sounds a bit like Afrikaans actually, if you catch snatches of the guttural G’s and rolling R’s. Another misconception the English have is that the Welsh are unfriendly. Wouldn’t you be, if they called you backwards and slow? I found the people warm and helpful, and very interested in my Springbok rugby jersey (they’re obsessed with the game).  The youth hostel I stayed in, on the bank of the river across from the Millennium Stadium, is called NosDa, and can more accurately be described as a small hotel. It aims to be the UK’s first five-star hostel and has the renovations to prove it. The bar is fantastic, the deck out on the river is wonderful for the few days it doesn’t rain, and the TV room is comfy and filled with games and books. They even have an underground nightclub. Speaking of night life, Cardiff is not short of bars and restaurants. There are branches of all the various chains, including a Walkabout twice the size of any other pub for the three Aussies in town. The live music scene is also vibrant, and I spent a night listening to various bands at Barfly, right next to the castle. It’s dark, dingy and fabulously loud, perfect for jumping around with strangers. I came away from Cardiff with a positive image of a city moving towards cultural prominence and historical richness. The bay area is new and shiny, the city centre is old and slightly tattered in the way of your ouma’s couch. Not too big, not too small, just right. Copyright - Lindsay du Plessis For permission to publish these articles or photographs, or to commission articles - Contact Me |
