Cardiff

Cardiff has been the capital of Wales since 1955 and at the time of sending this podcard, 2006, has a population of just over 300,000, so making it an important city but still a reasonably intimate one. Cardiff's famous sons include the writer Roald Dahl, footballer Ryan Giggs and those of you of a certain age may recall the one and only Miss Shirley Bassey. Coming from London, once you cross the Severn Bridge and therefore the border of England and Wales you need less than an hour in the car to get here. Alternatively you can fly to its international airport or take the train which follows pretty much the same route as the M4 motorway.

If you do come by car you'll notice a pretty little castle set on a hill before you arrive. This is Castell Coch, a Victorian castle and one of numerous to be found here. (for golfers, there's a great little 9 hole course set at the foot of the castle). Cardiff in fact has the highest concentration of castles in Europe, a result of the centuries of struggles between the Welsh and various invading forces. Probably the finest example is Cardiff Castle itself, situated in the heart of the city centre and a must for anyone visiting the area.

Tourists aren't short of things to do and see. A good idea is to take a bus tour of the city so you get a general idea of it and then you take later take your time visiting the places that interest you. You may wish to take the Taff Walk, the Taff being the local river and nickname of Welsh people in general - Taffs.

Steamer cruises are popular. Take a trip on these great boats along the coast or indeed over the water to the north coast of Devon in England. Shoppers and those who like the café society must get down to Cardiff Bay, a massive redevelopment of the once working docks where you can find all sorts of places to shop, eat and dance the night away.

However, surely the most popular attraction is the recently built Millennium Stadium in the city centre. It was completed in 1999 and replaced the famous old stadium Cardiff Arms Park. It was built to host the Rugby World Cup and since then has become Britain's premier sports venue. It's capacity is 74,500 and on June 26th 1999 a full house witnessed Wales beat South Africa for the first time in their history - what a way to open the stadium!

It even has a retractable roof, the largest in the world. This means that even in the worst weather conditions sports matches can still go on. The famous Welsh comedian and entertainer Max Boyce said "They say it has a sliding roof that they can slide all day. We'll slide it back when Wales attack, so God can watch us play" However, such a stadium isn't just used for rugby. Football is played there too. Since England's national stadium, Wembley, has been out of service for some time it hosts top English matches, notably the Cup finals and playoff finals.

Interestingly, the grass of the pitch can be removed because it is laid on 7000 pallets. This means that when there is a pop concert the grass isn't ruined by 60,000 people walking all over it. It also meant that in 2005 some stages of the World Rally Championship were held here. The bottom tier of the stadium was removed to make a course for the drivers. This was the first time that a rally was held indoors! Incredible.

The stadium only cost £126 million to build, which is cheap by modern standards. Mind you, this cost could soon be recuperated by the Joy Machines. What are they, I hear you ask. Well, these are the machines that can pour 12 pints of beer in less than 20 seconds. A recent rugby match against France saw 63000 fans consume an incredible 77000 pints of beer. This would have been impossible without the Joy Machines.

Incidentally, if someone here offers you a pint of Brains, don't be disgusted. It's the name of a local beer and really is quite good.