Places to Visit in Wales

by Derek Ayre Writer - Zen practitioner

Review on Places to Visit in Wales

Places to Visit in Wales is a new website where I intend to create articles about my homeland, Wales in the U.K.

South Wales, within easy reach of from most parts of the country, has tended to be associated with coal mining and heavy industry. But now, steeped in history and legend, it is now a most fascinating place for the visitor.

In it's history Cardiff, the capital, has been the foremost centre for the exportation of coal in the world. That may give the impression of a dirty coal-mining town, but on the contrary, Cardiff is a very attractive city to the visitor. It is an under-statement to say the architecture is very eye-catching, with it's Norman Castle and Edwardian civic centre, surrounded by flowering trees and ornate flower beds.

Built on the site of a derelict Roman fort, the history of Cardiff Castle goes back to the eleventh century and many non-Welsh people settled there. This brought about many attacks from the surrounding villages of the native Welsh.

In one such attack in 1158, Lord Ifor ap Meurig, of Sengenydd (near Caerphilly), the Norman Lord of Glamorgan, together with his Countess, was kidnapped from the castle and held for ransom, for certain 'wrongs' he had inflicted on the natives. Then later, in 1865, the castle underwent an amazing transformation by an architect named William Burges. He was doing the work for the third Marquess of Bute. The work can still marvelled at to this day.

The building really does look like a fairy-tale creation, that could well grace the pages of the book, Sleeping Beauty. For the visitor, there are guided tours around the castle, and it is full of medieval and ornate decoration, that includes: the 'Chaucer Room', based on Chaucer's works; the richly decorated Arab room; the Summer Smoking Rooms decorated with emblems of the universe, to name but a few. Peacocks inhabit the grounds and screech-like calls can be frequently heard.

It is obvious that money was no object to the Marquis of Bute. Cardiff Castle is a magnificent place to visit.

Cardiff shopping centre is a mixture of the modern with the old. Modern shopping malls sit alongside Victorian Arcades, with the new St. David's centre at the heart of the city. Adjacent to the centre is St. David's Hall. Here, we find a variety of entertainment all the year round, from singing stars like Shirley Basset' and Tom Jones to famous comedians, orchestras and opera stars.

Other attractions in Cardiff are the National Museum of Wales, with it's fine artifacts of Welsh history and other collections and, about five miles to the West of the City, St. Fagan's Folk museum which you can read more about on my website.

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Created on Sep 1st 2010 10:02. Viewed 1,392 times.

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