The Bay

A great deal has changed in the Bay area in recent years. Dereliction has been largely cleared, new hotels and many 'up market' residences have been built fronting what is becoming an increasingly desirable area to work and play. The Barrage is now complete and allows Cardiff to enjoy one of the largest marinas in southern Britain. First, how it used to be when I first came to Wales: Circa 1985.

	Cardiff Bay, mud flats et al, towards Penarth.		If you look very closely, there is a TV camera on the far side. We were recording a scene for a 'Wales Playhouse' drama.
Reflections on the mudflats of Cardiff Bay. This area is now covered with water permanently because of the new barrage scheme.			Previously, this area was tidal with a rise and fall of as much as 15 metres.
	Old and new. New developments can be seen behind the old sea lock gates.		The Cardiff Bay scheme is ongoing and is transforming the parts of Cardiff that had become virtually derelict.
I took this panorama in early 2004; it shows how old and new are being blended together in what I think is an attractive way.

Many good restaurants are now to be found in a cluster down here on the water front. Japanese, Italian, Chinese and on a pier of its own is a Turkish eatery; the Bosphorus, one of my personal favourites.		By night, this is the view from the interior of the Bosphorus. Even the tower crane looks pretty.
	Another 'cool' area for eating is in the foyer of the UCI cinema complex.	This is the Pier head building.
Every way, which way...		Nearby is this area, the Oval Basin, which slopes gently down to the waters edge. It has been used for open air concerts. The structure behind to the right is the skeleton of the new Millennium Building which opened in Autumn 2004.
	A slightly unusual view of the Pier head building.		Roald Dahl was christened at the Norwegian Church nearby. He lived with his parents in LLandaff as a child. This plaque commemorates his life.
	Cardiff' Bay's new 5* Hotel, The St.Davids by night...		...and by day. It sits on a promontory jutting into the bay. It is one of the two five star hotels now to be found in Wales's capital.
Clearly, window cleaning has to use climbing skills at the St. David's hotel. It is, I am told, minimally furnished in its public areas, but does provide excellent food and service.			More bent metal
	These are the same gates as above, a year later in 2001, after the Barrage has been opened (or should I say, shut!) The bay is now permanently flooded and is becoming quite a nice feature.		Although the mud flats were pictorially interesting, they were somewhat of an eyesore. The Bristol Channel has one of the highest tidal rise/fall variations in the world, some 15 metres.
This is the Barrage in operation, lifting to allow sailing craft to enter and leave the Marina via sea locks, now possible for 23 hours a day.			looking back towards Penarth
	You can walk across the barrage, or you can let the train take the strain.