On Sunday the 9th October 2016, Dan and I left the Piton Cross campsite after a great WFP meet weekend to head home. ON our way back we stopped off in Mumbles and Cardiff Bay.
We first stopped in Mumbles. Mumbles marks the beginning of the Gower Peninsula’s coastline.
There’s a Lighthouse built in 1794, and a Victorian Pier. Oystermouth Castle is also well worth a visit, sitting on a hilltop with fabulous views overlooking the sea.
Mumbles
(Mwmbwls in Welsh) is a small fishing village situated at the Western
end of Swansea Bay, at the entrance to The Gower Peninsula. Currently
well known as the birthplace of Catherine Zeta Jones and Ian Hislop,
Mumbles was previously a frequent haunt of Dylan Thomas and his
friends.
We parked up paid a couple of quid to park and walked up to Mumbles pier that was closed,probably as it was still very early in the morning.
The Mumbles Pier is an 835 feet (255 m) long Victorian pier built in 1898.The pier opened on 10 May 1898 at a cost of £10,000. It was the western
terminus for the world's first passenger carrying railway, the Swansea and Mumbles Railway; and a major terminal for the White Funnel paddle steamers of P and A Campbell, unloading tourists from routes along the River Severn and Bristol Channel.
In the summer of 1899, Will C. Pepper, father of the musicians Harry S. Pepper and Dick Pepper, founded a long-running concert party on the Pier called the White Coons.
Today, the pier is used only for fishing and tourism, offering panoramic views of Swansea Bay with the Mumbles Lighthouse on one side and Port Talbot on the other. Halfway along the Pier on the Bay side is a Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat
station. Still housing the historical records of the local Mumbles
lifeboat, the House also currently handles the 'Tyne' Class boat. The
Pier complex is owned and operated by the Bollom family.
To the right of the pier is Mumbles Lighthouse. Mumbles Lighthouse, completed in 1794, it was designed to alert passing ships of the dangerous Mixon Sands and
Cherry Stone Rock - two massive undersea sand banks that have caused
the destruction of countless ships and taken the lives of hundreds of
seamen over the centuries.
The structure, which sits on the outer of two islands off Mumbles Head,
is clearly visible from any point along the five mile sweep of Swansea Bay. Along with the nearby lifeboat station, it is the most photographed landmark in the village.
In 1860, the oil powered light was upgraded to a dioptric light and the fort that surrounds the tower was built by the War Department.In 1905, an occulting mechanism, where the light was made to flash, was fitted. This was partially automated in 1934.By 1977, the cast iron lantern had deteriorated beyond repair and was removed. A different lantern was added in 1987.In 1995, the main light was replaced and an array of solar panels and emergency monitoring equipment were added.
We walked back to the car passing the numerous boats and yachts to move on, as nothing was open and we needed to press on to see Cardiff before continuing home.
After a bit more driving and a longer than I thought diversion off the M4 we park up in Cardiff Bay.
Cardiff Bay is a diverse waterfront built around a 200 hectare
freshwater lake known as ‘the Bay’. Find a great mix of Cardiff
attractions, entertainment and events, coupled with vibrant bars and
shops that create a truly unique atmosphere worthy of any capital city!
We passed The Millennium Centre and had a quick look inside on our return to the car.
Wales Millennium Centre (Welsh: Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales.
The centre has hosted performances of Opera, Ballet, Dance, Theatre, comedy and Musicals.
The Centre comprises one large theatre and two smaller halls with
shops, bars and restaurants. It houses the national orchestra and opera,
dance, theatre and literature companies, a total of eight arts
organisations in residence. It is also home to the Cardiff Bay Visitor Centre.
Inscribed on the front of the dome, above the main entrance, are two poetic lines, written by Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis in the Welsh and English languages. The lettering is formed by windows in the upstairs bar areas and is internally illuminated at night.
The idea of this monumental inscription comes from Roman classical architecture. The Romans brought Christianity to these islands, along with the custom of engraving stone. The form of the Celtic cross
embodies the cross-fertilisation of indigenous and Roman cultures, from
which the Welsh nation first emerged. The monumental inscription is a
familiar feature of Roman architecture. The inscription over the
entrance of the Wales Millennium Centre is a revival of this classical
tradition, and also a recognition of the formative influence of Roman
culture upon our nation. We’re lucky to have two languages; one that we
share with half the world and one which belongs just to us. Words in
songs, stories and poems have helped to make Wales the proud country
that it is. —architect Jonathan Adams.
We the pass The Pierhead Building another iconic building.
The Pierhead Building (Welsh: Adeilad y Pierhead) is a Grade I listed building of the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff Bay. It stands as one of the city of Cardiff's most familiar landmarks and
was built in 1897 as the headquarters for the Bute Dock Company.
The clock on the building is unofficially known as the "Baby Big Ben" or the "Big Ben of Wales", and also serves as a Welsh history museum.The Pierhead Building is part of the estate of the National Assembly for Wales, which also includes the Senedd and Ty Hywel.
Incorporating a French-Gothic Renaissance theme, the Pierhead boasts details such as hexagonal chimneys, carved friezes, gargoyles, and a highly ornamental and distinctive clock tower. Its exterior is finished in glazed terracotta blocks supplied at the end of the nineteenth century by JC Edwards & Co of Acrefair near Ruabon in Wrexham – once described as one of the most successful producers of terracotta in the world.These features, along with the Pierhead's role in the development of
the docks, Cardiff and industrial Wales earned it the status of a Grade
One listed building.
We stopped in the Wethersppons pub here (The Mount Stuart) for breakfast and a cuppa before a fleeting look at the bay.
This former dock building was erected in the 1880s and served as the
long-time offices of the Mount Stuart Dry Docks Company Ltd. The offices
were built alongside Graving Dock No.1, part of Cardiff Docks, built by
the Marquesses of Bute. The now-demolished Mount Stuart public house
stood just outside the dock gates. Both the dock offices and the pub
were named after the Marquesses’ ancestral home on the Isle of Bute.
Now back at the car we press on for the journey home another cracker of a weekend. Cardiff deserves a weekend spent here. I'll be back as Arnie would say!