We went to the city centre on a water taxi which gave us a view of the banks of the River Taff and which brought us directly to the foot of the Cardiff Castle. We decided to take advantage of this and went into the castle for a self guided tour.
This castle has a Keep, used for protection back in Norman times, and more recently a home was added which was built over the decades by a family famous to the area, The Butes.
We climbed the steep steps to the top of the Keep where we could see the country side and imagine days gone by.
We wandered freely, learning about the castle in all its iterations...from Roman fort (the foundations of which were used for construction of the keep and the outer walls) to Norman castle, to royal residence, to air raid shelters from the second world war. The beautiful room in the Palace are used today to entertain heads if state and royalty.
One part of the tour took us into the fortified walls which surround the castle. During the second world war these were opened up to the public and used as bomb shelters. These have been refurbished to show how they appeared at the time and as we walked through them famous speeches were piped into the space as well as radio programs from the time. The sounds of dropping bombs made the experience seem very authentic.
After this adventure we wandered through the city centre where there are many covered arcades. Then hopped in a bus back to the docklands where our hotel was located.
We wondered through this area and happened past the Welsh Assembly...a beautiful and modern building made from glass, affording a view of the representatives inside when they are debating public policy...now THAT is open and transparent! (Interesting fact, the wood used in the centre comes from Canada).
It was a very picturesque stroll and we ended the day watching the moon rise over the bay.
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