Kincuri.com

I’m currently writing this update whilst on a train travelling from Cardiff to Bangor, via Crewe, going through the lovely Welsh countryside whilst listening to the Inglourious Basterds soundtrack, music which is oddly fitting for the trip. The area, north of Cardiff is so nice and green, spotted with the odd sheep or cow.

Yesterday was spent exploring Cardiff, with the morning spent in the Red Dragon centre, where the Doctor Who exhibition is housed.

Over all it was a pretty comprehensive display of props, costumes and figures from the new series of Doctor Who, with almost every prominent person/alien/robot from the last 4 seasons making an appearance. As you can see above, Daleks and Cybermen appeared, but there were also Ood, Scarecrows, the creepy French styled clockwork men, as well as costumes for the two recent Doctors, companions and Torchwood crew (was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more Torchwood, but I suppose it was a Doctor Who expo). It was almost completely dedicated to the newer series, with little mention of the original Doctor Who, but I didn’t mind too much as the new series are pretty much all I’ve watched.

The afternoon was spent at Cardiff Castle, which has origins dating back 2000 years, as a Roman fort, but was is seen today is a little more recent (only 1000 or so years old…).

The visit to the Castle proved to be a really good way to learn and understand the history of Cardiff. Due to the fact that the main historical  residents of the Castle were the Bute family. The Butes literally powered Cardiff’s development. As owners of the land surrounding Cardiff, they were also held rights to the vast supplies of coal that were mined here. Earnings from coal exports were later used to build docks in Cardiff bay, attracting trade and businesses into Cardiff, driving the population to grow from a about 1,000 people to 300,000+ people within 200 years. The Butes became rich and eventually donated the castle to the people of Cardiff (as a result, residents are able to request free entry to the castle grounds).

Now that the business of coal exports has started to wind down, lots of new development is happening in Cardiff, in preparation for a life after the reserves are spent (or demand moves elsewhere).

As I said, I’m currently on the train now, about to arrive in Bangor, almost the most Northern part of mainland Wales, close to the Snowdonia National Park (with the highest peak in the UK and often the setting of the legends of King Arthur). Close to Bangor is the train station with the longest, single word, name in the world, which I will endeavour to take a photo of.

No related posts.