Tourist Tuesday: Cardiff and the Mumbles

When it comes to travel, I can sometimes cling to an idea and get obsessed with. Since moving to London I decided I wanted to visit all the countries in the UK. The order didn’t matter as long as it got done. That is until I read a Buzzfeed list of 25 places to visit from London and I got  fixated on Wales. Specifically Cardiff, which the list said I could get to in 2 hours (although more like 3.5). So Ryan and I had a long weekend and we decided it was the perfect time to take a trip to Cardiff and the Mumbles (which is outside Swansea). 

Now even though I was stuck on Wales, I didn’t do a ton of research before we left. We had a more urban holiday to Wales, but I’m told lots of people go to Wales for rolling hills, hikes, and sheep. Did you know that sheep out number people 4 to 1? It’s true, the internet told me. Anyway, you can go to Wales for a scenic vacation but we stuck largely to castles and food – and still we saw some pretty beautiful sites.

In Cardiff we walked around and browsed in the many shopping arcades. We went to the indoor market and bought far too many pastries. We bought four Welsh cakes, a hot cross bun, a Chelsea bun, and a jam donut (which was divine). It was glorious and really inexpensive. We got all of that for about £3!

But the main thing we did in Cardiff was visit Cardiff Castle. It’s lovely and right in the center of the city surrounded by pubs, shopping, and a really lovely park. The castle is awesome because it dates back to the Romans. In the large picture above (on the left) you can see the Roman foundation, which are the lighter colored stones. The motte and bailey (pictured in the photo at the top) date to the 11th century and were commissioned by William the Conqueror. The best thing I learned was that in the 18th century a landscape architect designed the grounds and he was called Capability Brown. BEST NAME EVER! And in more recent history, part of the castle was used as an air raid shelter during WWII. I liked seeing the layers of history build on top and around each other.

Now, the castle passed through a number of families but in 1766 it was taken on by the Bute family. This family put Cardiff on the map as a place for coal export. They also, as you might expect, had a lot of money. In the mid 1800’s the 3rd Marquess of Bute commissioned a redesign of the interior of the house (in the left of the top picture right) and the home became as opulent as you see in the photos. I especially loved the library full of thick leather books. One day, I aspire to that kind of library – even though all my books are paperback.

The next day we took a train and a bus to the Mumbles, just outside of Swansea. We were in the mood for open sky and a little sea air. As well, Mumbles is a really charming town. It was a lovely sunny day and Ryan and I even got a hint of color in our skin, which was exciting. After a long gray winter, a little sun felt amazing.

We started our time in Mumbles by trudging up the hill to another castle. Outside the castle was some sort of event for children and a number of kids had been dressed up like a dragon and they were led in a parade across the grounds. We sat on a bench and look down at the town and enjoyed the fresh air. We then took a long walk down to the lighthouse, which is a tiny white blot in the background of the bottom left picture above. On the way we saw dogs frolicking in the water, we had a clotted cream and peach raspberry ice cream, and we stopped at a pub for a pint. That night we went back to Cardiff for another pint, pies, and Welsh rarebit (delicious cheese on bread). It was relaxing and refreshing overall. Truly a nice weekend jaunt to Wales. And now I’m eager for my next opportunity to be out in the open sky and by the water. Seems I’ll need to find a new location to replace my Wales obsession.