Cardiff on Thursday

This morning Allan went to the Dr Who Museum - Cardiff is the home of Dr Who, but you will have to ask Allan about all that.  

Rob and I visited Cardiff Castle. What you can see here is the remains of the keep built after the Norman conquest but the fort surrounding the keep was built by the Romans about 55AD.  The castle has been added to over the years, with most interesting building added after the noble Bute family took over in 1766. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th Marquess of Bute were prominent in the building of Cardiff as an important port and exporter of coal. In 1866, the 3rd Marquess employed an architect to build the most recent building. There are no words to describe this manor house - it is extravagant, imaginative, and "over the top". It has to be seen to be believed. Photos do not do it justice, but I discovered that Google Images have an assortment that will tell you what I mean. Please take a quick look

 Cardiff has a very distinctive architecture. Houses like my grandparents abound. The design of their houses and many others is Victorian, built in the mid 19th Century when Cardiff grew very fast.
Many of the shops are also Victorian. I took a couple of photos of the shops in the main street.

After lunch we caught the Welsh train (Trenau Arriva Cymru) and left for Y Fenny (Abergavenny).

I am fascinated by the Welsh language and would love to try to learn it. I must resist the temptation to add yet another thing to my daily routine.

There is a really big push to bring the Welsh language to the fore. All children learn in Welsh schools now. A woman on the train today said her mother had been punished severely by the English for speaking welsh and they had to wear the "Welsh not". I found this picture on Google.