Description: The area surrounding the castle is notable both for the ancient beech woods and for the rock outcrops, which show the point where Devonian Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous Limestone beds meet. The area is designated the Castell Coch Woodlands and Road Section Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Description: While resting on ancient foundations, Castell Coch (Red Castle) is relatively modern, the by-product of a vivid Victorian imagination, assisted by untold wealth. The Middle Ages fascinated the Victorians as much as the Victorians fascinate us today. High Gothic was the order of the day. The ‘eccentric genius’ William Burges was given free rein by his paymaster, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart, the 3rd marquess of Bute, to create a rural retreat to complement the opulence of his main residence, Cardiff Castle. He didn’t hold back. Dazzling ceilings, over-the-top furnishings and furniture were liberally applied. Detailed architectural drawings still survive today and following Burges’s death in 1881, colleagues faithfully continued work...
Description: The Cardiff High School Old Boys Rugby Football Club owes its existence – in part, at least, to a very early example of student power. Despite the fact that rugby has always been the National Game of Wales, for many years Cardiff High School (one of the country’s leading schools) played soccer. As a result of unrelenting pressure from the students, the school authorities agreed to adopt rugby as the main winter sport in 1921. At the end of the 1921/22 season, the first-ever Old Boys team took the field in a fixture with the school first XV. Such was the success of the match that it was decided to form an official Old Boys club, which then played a full programme of fixtures for two seasons. However, the loss of its playing fields led to ...
Description: Gales in May 1947 forced the 7,000 ton ship, 'Port Royal Park', onto the pier, causing severe damage. Repairs costing £28,000, included underpinning of the cast iron columns and the installation of new reinforced concrete columns. The pier re-opened in 1950. In August 1966, the paddle steamer 'Bristol Queen', operated by the White Funnel line, also collided with the pier in dense fog, again causing serious damage. Cruises on the White Funnel fleet, owned by the famous Bristol based P & A Cambell Ltd, ceased operating in 1981 and over the years, this trade has dwindled with the commercial shipping companies having now all disappeared. However, two ships, the MV Balmoral and PS Waverley, operated by the Paddle Steamer Preservation So...
Description: The Second Severn Crossing (Welsh: Ail Groesfan Hafren) is a bridge which carries the M4 motorway over the River Severn between England and Wales, inaugurated on 5 June 1996 by HRH The Prince of Wales to augment the traffic capacity of the original Severn Bridge built in 1966. The bridge marks the lower limit of the River Severn and the start of the Severn Estuary. Its location is further to the south than the old bridge and being more in line with the landward sides of the M4 motorway, is a shorter journey when travelling between England and South Wales. The junctions at each end are designed for most traffic to use this crossing – to use the old Severn Bridge crossing one has to leave the M4 and join the M48 motorway either at Aust or...
