This morning I had two days left in the area and so much still to see! It was time to focus on the best of what was left. Today that meant visiting a castle, a historic Welch village, a car show, and the waterfront. This agenda would make a dent but there’s still so much that will go unseen. Only a bit more can be seen tomorrow, my last day in this abundant city.
Before leaving the U.S. I learned of Caerphilly Castle and knew it had to be seen. It’s the second largest castle in the U.K. after Windsor. The grounds cover 30 acres. It had multiple wall barricades and several bodies of water to protect the castle from attack. It was on a scale I’d never seen before but while the outside was impressive, I read the inside was nothing special. With this in mind I got there early, walked the perimeter for 90 minutes and caught enough variety of views in different light to feel I captured a bit of its scale and grace.
Timing was working well for me today. When I got back to Cardiff I stumbled into the hourly bus to St. Fagans National Historic Museum and arrived before noon. This heritage attraction is a collection of Welch village structures from throughout the ages. Farm houses, shops, a community hall, tradesmen shops, a farm, a post office, and even a castle were all there to demonstrate how Welch people lived, worked, and played throughout the ages. In four fast-paced hours I covered all the grounds but left much of the castle unexplored. It’s free, it’s near Cardiff, and it’s a good experience … no wonder it’s the top attraction in Wales.
Whether I could get to my last planned visit was in doubt. This became obvious when I stumbled into a car show featuring Minis. I couldn’t very well walk by without taking pictures and that didn’t leave time for Techniquest. So I visited the National Assembly, Pierhead Building, and lots of other lesser sites in Millennium Center.
Guess I’ll have to get really busy tomorrow.
by 
