For the Easter weekend, I took a trip to Cardiff with my housemate. Due to parking concerns, we elected to go by coach. For £20 each return, it was cheaper than both driving and going by train so it seemed like the best plan. Unfortunately, everyone else was going to Wales on Good Friday. Instead of the scheduled three hours, our coach took six hours to get from London Victoria to Cardiff Central. A long and slightly uncomfortable journey for all concerned.
When we eventually got to Cardiff and found our hotel, we were worn out from all the travelling and decided to get an early night. A true sign that I am getting old.
My housemate's main reason for going to Cardiff was to visit the Doctor Who Experience so on Easter Saturday we walked down to the Cardiff Bay area. It was about a 45 minute walk from our hotel but fortunately the weather was sunny for a change. We explored the area around the Millennium Centre and Roald Dahl Plass first. Apparently this area was heavily featured in the Doctor Who spin off Torchwood.
The Millennium Centre
We then joined the queue for the Doctor Who Experience itself. Considering it was Easter Saturday and school holidays, we didn't have to wait for too long. The exhibition starts off with an interactive experience where essentially you all get to pretend to be the Doctor's new assistance. You go in the TARDIS, defeat some Daleks and see some other villains before saving the Doctor's life in some manner. Pretty good fun, even for someone who isn't so much of a Doctor Who fan. After this, there is an exhibition featuring aspects of the series throughout it's history. There were costumes from all of the Doctors and many of the assistants. There were also recreated TARDIS interiors and most of the villains were featured too.
A collection of Daleks, scary
In the evening, we went for a night out in Cardiff town. Being Londoners, we found ourselves pleasantly surprised by the lower alcohol prices and had a good night out. Despite it being the evening after a larger rugby game in Cardiff, the town wasn't too busy and we found ourselves in a 90s themed night club to finish the evening off.
The following day, we decided to get a bit more cultural and visit Cardiff Castle. The castle was only a short walk from our hotel which also helped persuade us it was the place to go that day! Like with the Doctor Who Experience, it wasn't as busy as expected but this made wandering around much easier. For the entry price, we got a free audio tour which was pretty interesting. My favourite part was climbing up to the top of the Castle Keep where I could see the city and surrounding countryside.
The Castle Keep
View from the top
I think two days was enough to cover most of Cardiff's major sites and I really enjoyed my second visit to the capital of Wales.
