Walking to Work, May 2015

On sunny days when I'm organised enough to leave the house early, I like nothing more than walking to work instead of travelling by bus.

I still catch the bus on those days, but only for the first part of the journey, jumping off at the gates of Thompson's Park in Canton.

This is one of the oldest parks in the city. It was opened to the public in 1891 by the landowner, Mr Charles Thompson, who gave it to the Cardiff Council in 1912 and continued to develop it as a public park at his own expense. Here we see the southern end with the pond, fountain and the bronze sculpture 'Joyance' by Goscombe John - or, rather, a replica thereof, as the original was removed to St Fagans a few years ago after being stolen multiple times.

I walk through the park, which takes me up the hill and across the top field, passing this Paulownia tree.

I exit the park onto the main road and cross to enter Llandaff Fields...

...cross the field, past the children's play area, and through into Pontcanna Fields

From here I can either pick up the Taff Trail on the western bank of the river and follow the path into town, or cross the Taff at Blackweir to pick up the trail on the eastern bank. I usually cross at Blackweir.

Here, there are about three or four different paths I can take into town - there's the towpath along the Mill Stream, the main paths around into Bute Park and Cooper's Field, or my personal favourite: the nature trail along the river bank. Early in the morning with only the occasional runner or dog walker to disturb the peace, I always love this quiet, beautiful walk - it's so soothing to the soul.

Along the way, I pass the Secret Garden Cafe and the Summerhouse Cafe, the other footbridge and various waterfowl

And further along I again have a choice: continue along the riverside, through the formal gardens of Bute Park, or drift across into the arboretum and Cooper's Field. This latter route takes me past the remains of the old Blackfriar's Abbey

Blackfriars Friary is the site of a former Dominican friary established in 1256 and occupied for 288 years until it was dissolved and handed over to the crown in 1538 during the rule of Henry the VIII.
In 1404 the site was sacked and burnt by Owain Glyndwr during his campaign against English rule, but damaged parts of the building were re-built. Following its closure as a friary, much of the building’s fabric was lost and the extent of the site was not revealed until it was excavated in 1887 on request of the third Marquess of Bute. The architect William Frame was then tasked with interpreting the site as an ornamental garden feature. At this time the site lay within the private grounds of Cardiff Castle - since donated by the Bute family to the city of Cardiff. The Victorian scheme was partially restored in 2013 using reclaimed bricks to match the originals.

From here I continue past the gorsedd stones and Cardiff Castle, on into town and to work. The entire journey takes around an hour, all told.

a walk through the past - Oystermouth Castle, Mumbles, November 2014

Earlier in the winter, before the weather turned, I spent a day down at the Mumbles with my other half and, after wandering around the seafront for a while, we decided to take a stroll up the hill to Oystermouth Castle, which we'd seen in the distance many times but never actually visited.

Built in the 12th century in the wake of the Norman Conquest, Oystermouth is a really pretty castle, built on the side of a small hill and commanding a glorious view across Swansea Bay - a strong defensive position for the invaders to consolidate their gains!

Until fairly recently the castle was little more than a crumbling and overgrown ruin, but in 2010 it underwent a £1m refurbishment regime, removing the weeds and making the structure safe, before re-opening to the public again. I'd never been here before and was impressed to find just how intact the castle actually is, with far more of the internal layout remaining than in most other castles I've visited, rooms and passages and vaults still standing and accessible for the visitor to explore.

 

 

There are some gorgeous medieval fireplaces going on in there

 

Such a beautiful castle - why have I never been there before? I mean seriously, look at this:

 

 

Plus, it has the glorious views across Mumbles and Swansea Bay

And also there's this ducky little fake owl tucked away in an old chimney to startle the unwary - what's not to love?

Well worth a visit if you get the chance!

A winter's walk, January 2015, part 2 - St Lythan's

Continuing the story of last Saturday's hike around the Vale of Glamorgan, the second ancient burial site encountered en route was this stunning Neolithic chambered tomb, standing in glorious isolation in the middle of a field just outside the hamlet of St Lythan’s in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Like Tinkinswood, just a mile or so up the road, the cromlech is something like 6,000 years old and would originally have been at least partially covered with an earthen mound.

The site has never been fully excavated, so not much is known about it, but the dolmen would once have formed part of a much larger chambered long barrow, the shape of which is still partially visible in the field around.

The dolmen stands in the middle of a field called Maesyfelin, which it often shares with a herd of cows - I’m rather glad they weren’t there the day I visited, it was muddy enough underfoot as it was!