Cardiff Bay

Cardiff Bay actually used to be the old Cardiff Docks, once the busiest coal exporting port in the World. Throughout the 20th century the exportation of coal dropped from 16 million tonnes at its peak to zero, having devastating effects on the local community. The once prosperous Tiger Bay became a derelict shadow of its former self, and its rich multicultural population unemployed.

Until the late eighties when the government decided to re-generate urban areas such as the Docklands in London and Cardiff Bay. The idea was breathtakingly simple - they would create a £200 million pound dam, the Cardiff Bay Barrage. This would in turn hold back the waters of the Taff and Ely rivers and create a huge freshwater lake, which would create a favourable environment to attract new industry, tourism and housing.

And it’s worked! Since the idea proposed in the late Eighties, over 100 new businesses have located there and over 5,000 new homes have been built, many of the flats and penthouses overlooking the lake are some of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Wales. On the tourist side the Cardiff Bay Visitors Centre (the giant squashed toilet roll) next door to the Norwegian Church provides information on what is going on in the locality, from cruises round the bay to Don Giovanni at the Wales Millennium Centre (WMC).

For those looking for a slightly quieter spot Cardiff Bay provides a refuge from the hurly burly of the city centre. Just a mile away its waterfront location provides the perfect backdrop for a sophisticated night out. Stylish pubs and restaurants are complemented by the eclectic mix of architecture. The beautiful 19th century Pier head building, rubbing shoulders with the Brazilian granite NCM building. But the skyline is dominated by the Wales Millennium Centre.