Date walked: 17th June 2015

Distance: 8.75 miles

Map used: OS Explorer 151 – Cardiff and Bridgend

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My apologies for the length of time since the last post. I have been a bit poorly. Normal service will be resumed ASAP.

So, day 1 of a project that could take a couple of years to complete, so be patient- I hope you enjoy the armchair journey. I am going to try and include a map for each leg of the walk. Here’s a first attempt.

Personally I am not that taken with this mapping system, so here’s an alternative.You seem to need to scroll out a little bit to see the start and finish points. (I know, I’m working on it). Any comments on the map are welcome.

As you see, Neil and I did this walk in June last year. Which means that I can remember very little about it. Perhaps the photos will prompt some exciting observations. If not, I hope you enjoy the pics.

Please will someone sponsor me to have my double chin sorted out

Neil has very kindly taken responsibility for planning our route, referring to the latest edition of the Cambrian Way Guide book, and cross referencing to their website. So, map and Guide Book in hands, we set off in an easterly direction, enjoying the Buddleja encrusted old buildings.

Practically a garden;the beady eyed might spot some other species.

We passed the entrance to a nameless park with post-modern entrance pillars…

Coal Pit winding towers?

… and then the police station which has a great big lamp in front of it.

Suggestive of a light house?

According to the map, and backed up by some signage, we were also following the Taff Trail.

Why doesn’t Grangetown have a translation?

In case you didn’t know this, the Taff is one of two rivers that run into Cardiff Bay. We were going to walk by this river for most of this walk, affording me little opportunity to get lost. Do I hear cries of “shame?”

There’s a river bus if you fancy a river trip

Considering we were in the city centre, it was surprisingly leafy.

Millennium stadium ahead

Here’s a pic of Neil in the underpass approaching the Millennium 
Stadium.

I promised not to be hard on Neil; I think he fills on that shirt very nicely, don’t you?

I understand that the Millennium Stadium is where lots of Very Important sporting events take place; I have not been inside, but I enjoyed the outside very much.

The touches of colour are especially effective

The Nos Da Hostel is by the river and looked very cheerful.  (For my foreign readers Nos Da means “Good Night” in Welsh)

Do check out their website as the rooms are very funky.

Over on the right was Bute Park, where Cardiff Castle is situated and where they hold the RHS Cardiff Show in April;they have a lot of stalls selling Welsh produce – the show gardens are not up to much.

This is the ferry stop by the park

A little further on, the path crosses a footbridge and continues on the other side of the river, giving one a completely different perspective.

I can’t remember how or when we crossed back but still with the river on our right and Pontcanna fields on our left we came to  the Blackweir Footbridge.

Look, there’s Neil again with an empty rucksack.

Here’s another pic of it.

It’s a bit bouncy

It was around here that I began to notice that my feet were beginning to feel sore. Stop to inspect. Find blister. Boo hoo. Regular visitors here will remember me posting a review of the brand new All Out Blaze Sieve shoes (I know, ridiculous name) I was wearing.

The path continued through Gabalfa park….

….near which local youths had been amusing themselves with a bit of wall decoration.

Looking at it now I think that someone has painted over a previous daub

Someone had even had a stab at a mural.

OK, its not great and I don’t know what the red flash is meant to be

We passed another weir.

It’s getting quite rural now

On the other side of the river, but out of sight, was Llandaff Cathedral. (Anne and I went to our first concert there by The Sixteen a couple of years ago- they are a superb choir that we have since been to see several more times -just saying).

Hailey Park was about another mile further upstream.

No mention of the Cambrian Way, because it is not recognised as an “official” path

And near it, more work by local artists.

Sorry, I forgot to record what it says

We had to cut through built up corner of Whitchurch and came across our first bit of history in the form of the Melingriffith Water Pump.

Do read the link – its fascinating stuff

This was part of a tin plate works in the late C18th and early C19th, which according to Wikipedia was the largest in the world at the time.

We were walking on quite a narrow tarmac footpath with a fence hiding people’s gardens. Over one section was a massive rambler rose offering delight to this passer-by.

There are a lot of white ramblers- could have been ‘Bobby James’

The green wedge on this side of the river was occupied presently by some allotments….

…. whilst over on the other side, where no doubt very expensive properties enjoy elevated views, men from Network Rail were doing some abseiling practice.

Clever of me to get a train in the pic, eh?

The quality of the graffiti showed a marked improvement…..

My, that roof is in need of urgent repairs

… including this witty panel.

Pity about the scribbler who thought it needed spelling out more.

About half a mile before we passed under the M4, another weir was doing a good job of trapping troublesome trees.

Just above this was the feeder for the Melingriffith tin works.

An information board gave further insight into the the industrial history of the area – a light railway used to run along the bank, bringing iron from the Pentyrch iron works further upstream to the tin pate works.

You haven’t seen Neil for a bit, so here he is.

I instruct him not to smile, but he finds this difficult

The M4 provided me with my favourite pic of the day.

Well, two of them actually.

Immediately after the M4 was another bridge that would have taken the aforementioned light railway.

After a last misty glimpse of the Taff….

…. we were directed north-east away from the river and under the A470 to the village of Tongwynlais.

This is a drab little place, sandwiched between the river and the hillside and hemmed in by the busy A470.

We stopped for a sandwich, taken in the churchyard.

A right turn in the centre of the village and a little climb up a minor road brought us to the fantastic Victorian gothic-revival conceit of Castell Coch.

Neil went in subsequently and agreed that it was fab

I love this place. Anne and I visited years ago. The interior is highly decorated and is WONDERFUL.

Now this should have been the end of the day’s walk, the Cambrian Way heading north-east up through the forest. But in a state of most uncharacteristic confusion Neil had us staying on the Taff Trail for two more miles.

Neil leading us on a wild goose chase

We ended up at a bus stop  alongside the A468 at Nantgarw. We had just missed the bus that would have taken us back to Cardiff, so after a lot of head scratching and without any recrimination we took a bus to Caerphilly then a train back to the city. Still, I got to use my Senior Citizen bus pass which put a smile on my face as Neil (who is older than me), did not have one.