Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales. Located on the South Wales coast it is administered as a unitary authority. It was a small town until the early nineteenth century and came to prominence following the arrival of industry in the region and the use of Cardiff as a major port for the transport of coal. Cardiff was made a city in 1905 and proclaimed capital of Wales in 1955. In the Census 2001 the population of Cardiff was 305,340, making it the 16th largest settlement in the United Kingdom.

The Welsh capital is a city undergoing major renewal, as is evidenced by the amount of building and reconstruction that is taking place. Most noticeable of all, particularly for the visitor emerging from the railway station, is the looming modernity of the Millennium Stadium, which dominates the skyline on the western edge of the city centre. Both in the city centre itself and at the equally impressive Cardiff Bay development, home to the brand new Wales Millennium Centre, an air of optimistic rejuvenation is almost palpable.

Home of the recently established Welsh National Assembly, Cardiff is currently on an upward curve, virtually a city reinvented since the low points of the 1970s and 1980s. Then it was difficult to believe that less than a century earlier, the city had been one of the great powerhouses of the British Empire, exporting vast amounts of coal from the nearby Valleys and steel from the huge plants in South Wales. When these industries all but died out during the last quarter of the 20th century, prospects appeared bleak. Yet, thanks to government and European Union encouragement, new employers have moved in to help fill the economic void. A measure of this successful economic regeneration is the fact that available hotel bed spaces in Cardiff have increased by over 40% in the past five or so years.

Even now, however, visitors should not go to Cardiff expecting the cosmopolitan sophistication of larger, longer established capitals. Located in the south of Wales and looking onto the Severn Estuary, the city was only officially recognised as a capital in 1955 and it retains a friendly ‘small town’ quality that spirited self-promotion and inward investment have not entirely shaken off, perhaps to its benefit. Even so, it has a vibrant atmosphere and a lively music scene and nightlife, due in part to the presence of 26,000 or so students based at the city’s universities.

The central area, with its seven delightful Victorian shopping arcades and traffic-free streets, extends from the railway station to the impressive castle. This is Cardiff’s traditional commercial and social heart but, increasingly, Cardiff Bay, 2km (1 mile) or so to the south, is gaining ground in the entertainment and leisure stakes, as well as becoming an important administrative centre.

Indeed, Cardiff Bay has altered beyond recognition, from its past as the world’s largest coal exporting port to a modern sport and leisure complex; it is also Europe’s largest waterfront development and it has a wealth of leisure activities available both on and off the water. The Bay is home to a number of attractions such as Techniquest Science Discovery Centre, Craft in the Bay, The Welsh Assembly at the Pierhead, Butetown History and Arts Centre, Goleulong 2000 Lightship, the Norwegian Church Arts Centre and the brand new Wales Millennium Centre, a stunning and international arts centre. The Atlantic Wharf Leisure Village provides further options for family entertainment.

As with any newborn entity (phoenix or otherwise), Cardiff has further growth to undergo before maturity is reached. However, Wales as a whole has grown in self-esteem now its status as a nation is recognised by the UK government. Cardiff embodies this new confidence. What’s more, Cardiff this year (2005) celebrates its centenary as a city and 50 years as Welsh capital, so this newly found confidence will no doubt be boosted some more.

Cardiff’s climate is quite temperate, without extreme variation between seasons and rain, sometimes quite a lot of it, all year round.