I had to choose between an afternoon at Cardiff Bay or St. Fagan’s, during my recent trip to Cardiff, and I chose the bay area. Having taken the boat from Bute park to Cardiff Bay, I stepped onto the pier trying to decide which direction I should start my exploration. My eyes were drawn to the beautiful red building right in front of me. So, I started my exploration with a visit to the Pierhead.
I found that parts of the building was open to the public so I decided to explore it. On the ground floor, adjacent to the reception area, was a small gallery with posters and information on the background to the building and the post 1800 history of Cardiff. I learnt that the Pierhead had been built as offices for the Bute Docks company, during the peak of the coal trade in Cardiff in 1897. Soon after in 1905, Cardiff was granted city status.
My favourite corner of the building was the assistant dockmaster’s office, which had a great view of the bay and pier. There were two pieces in the former office that stood out – the grand post box and the table with the phones, which one could dial and listen to a recording by a current resident of the Bay area, about her or his favourite spots or memories of living in the area.
The Pierhead is now part of the National Assembly estate and is located next to the Senedd, or Parliament in English, also part of the estate.
Walking towards the Norwegian Church centre, I passed a statue and the clothing on the statue holding a torch made me go closer to read the plaque next to it. I found that the statue of Sri Chinmoy was a gift of the World Harmony Run organization (or the Sri Chinmoy Oneness) to Cardiff during its visit in 2012. The Peace Statue invites the onlooker to hold the torch and make a prayer for peace.
A few steps from the peace statue is the little Norwegian Church Arts Centre, which was founded in 1868 and was a haven for Scandinavian seamen, not only as a place of religion but also as a place to relax and read newspapers and magazines from home or write letters.
The building is open to the public and there is a coffee shop on the ground floor adjacent to the little chapel. This chapel was where the writer, Roald Dahl, was christened. On the first floor, there is an exhibition on the history of the church centre as well as its connection to Roald Dahl.
Walking back to the Pierhead and beyond, I came across the Roald Dahl Plass and the Water Tower. The public space is an oval shaped square surrounded by pillars with the water tower, at one end, which has a constant stream of water running down it.
Just across the square is the Millennium Centre, another iconic landmark of Cardiff, which is an arts centre with two theatres – the Donald Gordon theatre and the Weston Studio theatre. The Glanfa stage in the foyer, at the centre, hosts free performances during the day. The centre is also home to nine arts organizations.
While these six were the highlights of my afternoon visit to Cardiff Bay, there are other interesting places in its vicinity such as the Mermaid Quay shopping centre and the Doctor Who experience centre, for those familiar with the TV series. Fabulous Welsh Cakes at Mermaid Quay was highly recommended for their Welshcakes but having just finished a food tour with Welshcakes earlier that day, I decided to skip a visit to the shop.
Which of these Cardiff Bay highlights have you enjoyed or would like to visit?
[I am linking this post to Weekend Travel Inspiration , The Weekly Postcard and Wanderful Wednesday]
Perspectives Quilt 
I have not been to Cardiff but it looks like there is plenty to do in this iconic city. Lots of history that I’d like to see.
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Cardiff is a lovely city, Rhonda. I enjoyed my first visit there and hope to revisit someday, for more than a couple of days.
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Some great thoughts on what to do in Cardiff Bay. I have still not visited Wales, but we are hoping to get there later this coming year!
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I am sure you will love Cardiff city and the Bay area, Jessica.
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Good recommendations on what to do in Cardiff Bay. To be honest, I’ve never thought of visiting Wales, but after reading your post I reconsidered my opinion. There seems to be a lot to do and see there. Thanks for sharing this post. #TheWeeklyPostcard
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Thanks, Anda, and I know you will like Cardiff when you do visit. This was my first visit to Cardiff and I really enjoyed it. Next time though, I hope I am also able to visit Swansea and Snowdonia.
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I haven’t been to Wales yet, but have been wanting to go for the natural beauty. Thanks for providing some suggestions of what to see in the city. It looks really nice. #TheWeeklyPostcard.
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Thanks, Anisa. I do want to visit northern Wales, especially Snowdonia, someday but wanted to start with a visit to the city.
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Had to stop by to see if there was something I missed out on when in Cardiff as I wasn’t impressed. But no… #wkendtravelinspiration
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Sorry to hear you weren’t impressed by Cardiff bay area. I liked the city and its bay.
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Unbelievably I’ve still never been to Cardiff. I’ve heard lots of good things about it though, seems to be a good mixture of historical things to see and do plus some modern regeneration going on. I must visit!
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Cardiff was a pleasant surprise as my friends in the UK had asked me why I was choosing to visit the city and suggesting that Swansea or north Wales would be more beautiful. I am glad I chose to visit Cardiff because it is a lovely city with an interesting history. Hope you get to visit Cardiff as well, Rachel!
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Such a lovely area for a walk, the Pierhead building is gorgeous! I’ve never visited Cardiff, but surely I wouldn’t want to miss the bay.
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The Cardiff bay is a lovely area and I can imagine it would be a very lively place in summer. Hope you do visit Cardiff!
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I love the bay area so much! I remember writing a very similar post right back when I started blogging. We walked the whole way around the bay… and got verrrrry wet as it started pouring with rain when we were half way around. I loved the Norwegian church too!
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The bay area is a lovely area. I wish I also had visited on a day, when they had a performance at the Millennium centre. Would have been lovely to go in for a concert or theatre performance.
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I love that church. They have a Norwegian community in Hamburg too and I just find the idea of creating a little space of home abroad so lovely! Obviously Norwegians miss their country A LOT whenever they have to leave it 😉
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That church is a lovely little one at a great location. After exploring the exhibition space of the church, I stopped by its cafe, hoping they would have some Scandinavian cinnamon rolls or some other baked sweets from that region, but didn’t find any.
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I went to Cardiff over the summer to stay with my friend, and she took me down to the Bay… it was absolutely packed with a rowing race and a kids’ carnival going on! I loved all the sights you mention – especially the Millenium Centre, it’s so unique.
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A rowing race – how lovely. I would have loved to explore inside the Millennium Centre or go to one of the performances held there. Hope you were able to do so.
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This looks like a great area to walk around for a day! I really love Roald Dahl, so I’d definitely like to visit some of the places that have information on him! Thanks for sharing and linking up!! 😀
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Cardiff Bay is a lovely place to walk around as well as take a boat trip from.
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