Cardiff Bay’s Sights and Sounds: A Children’s Trail

(1 review)

Cardiff audio tour: Cardiff Bay’s Sights and Sounds: A Children’s Trail

This is a 0.8mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

Cardiff

The United Kingdom

$7.99

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About the Tour

Hunt for clues about Tiger Bay’s nautical past on a walking tour that’s brought to life through poetry, music, and stories of yesteryear. Homesick sailors, intrepid explorers and mythical beasts are just some of the intriguing characters you’ll meet along the way.

On this family-friendly stroll around Cardiff, you can expect to:

Learn about the man who wrote a new poem for the King every single time he asked
Hear about the brave sailors who journeyed to the icy Antarctic
See the house that was moved to an entirely new location
Uncover the stories of the area’s mine workers
Find out how you can change Welsh laws

These are just some of the topics we’ll cover as you explore Cardiff Bay on this short tour which culminates in a fun quiz! So join me on this walk where we’ll dive into the fascinating world of Cardiff Bay waterfront.

Tour Producer

Sarah Salter

9 tours

Sarah Salter is an experienced professional tourist guide and founder of Sarah's Wales. She welcomes guests from across the world as they discover the very best Wales has to offer. Sarah combines elements of history, culture, humour and storytelling to conjure up an unforgettable experience.

Her mission is to make every tour educational, enjoyable and above all entertaining. She enjoys researching the unusual and unexpected details about any destination. She particularly enjoys social history weaving stories of people through the ages into her tours. Alongside this she throws in a careful blend of contemporary culture and everyday Welsh life to demonstrate the real Wales.

Sarah is based in the capital city of Wales, surrounded by beautiful beaches, rolling green hills and castles - there are over 640 in Wales! She spends her spare time tramping footpaths, clambering over castle ruins and beach combing with her family and dog as they explore beautiful Wales together.

Preview Location

Location 3

Beastie Benches & Pit to Port

Ahead of you are some low red-brick coloured seats. See if you can find them and sit on your favourite for a moment if you like. We'll stay here while I tell you another story.

Each one is a different mythical creature. Some look like fish, others are like dogs, or snail... Ahead of you are some low red-brick coloured seats. See if you can find them and sit on your favourite for a moment if you like. We'll stay here while I tell you another story.

Each one is a different mythical creature. Some look like fish, others are like dogs, or snails, or people. A very famous Welsh poet and writer called Dylan Thomas wrote a piece called "Ballad of the long-legged bait". In it, he describes a number of mythical beasts, and the designs for these benches are based on his descriptions.

Dylan Thomas came from West Wales. He was famous for writing poems and stories which he wrote in English.

While you're sitting here, you should be able to see another statue. A metal statue of a man. Walk up to him and stop for a closer look.

What can you see? Can you guess what sort of work he does? He's wearing a hard hat with a light on it. He needs the light because it is dark where he works. His clothes are a vest and some sturdy trousers and boots. What's that he has over his shoulder? It's a pickaxe - a special tool for breaking up hard material like rock or coal. He's a coal miner. What is he leaning on? Can you see a cart on wheels? That's a dram. Drams were the carts used to take the coal from the bottom of the mine to the surface.

What is behind the miner? I can see different things. I can see a chimney with smoke coming out of it, the outline of a ship, and a circle on top of a tall structure. That's the pit wheel. As it turned it wound up and down a cable. On the end of the cable was a big cage a bit like a modern-day lift. The cage could take men and supplies up and down between the surface and the bottom of the mine. I can also see a crane. This sculpture is called Pit to Port and contains all the different parts of the journey of coal from the bottom of the pit to being loaded onto boats here in Cardiff Bay.

Let's continue. Keep walking now with the railings on your right. There's another beastie bench ahead of you. What creature do you think it will be? Read More

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Major Landmarks

Norwegian Church Arts Centre
The Senedd
Cardiff Bay
Mermaid Quay
Wales Millennium Centre
Roald Dahl Plass
Water Tower by William Pye - Cardiff Bay Art Trail

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Bay, Norwegian Church Arts Centre, Harbour Dr, Cardiff CF10 4PA, UK
Total distance

1km
Final location
Statue of Ivor Novello, Cardiff CF10 4PZ, UK
Distance back to start location

288.76m

Directions to Starting Point

This tour starts at the Norwegian Church on Cardiff Bay's waterfront. Head to the waterfront and turn left. The white church with black roof and spire is a prominent landmark. The tour starts in front of the church. Stand between the church and the waterfront railings.

What3words: visits.tides.before
Address: Norwegian Church, Harbour Drive, Cardiff Bay, CF10 4PA

There is a limited amount of parking adjacent to the church. There is a larger multi-storey car park 5 minutes walk away at Pierhead Street. Q-Park Cardiff Bay Car Park, Pierhead Street, Cardiff CF10 4PH

Take the train from Cardiff Queen Street Station to Cardiff Bay or Cardiff Bus Number 6 from Cardiff City Centre.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Senedd Cymru (Wales Parliament), Pierhead Building, Ice-cream stop, Cake option, Wales Millennium Centre

Best time of day

Daylight all year round. However its best not to do it on a very wet or windy day.

Precautions

Visitors need to be aware of cyclists in the area. There are sections of the walk that are shared with cyclists and areas where cyclists may be encountered unexpectedly. While all reasonable care has been taken to provide a safe walking route, please practice due caution.

Sunblock, sunhat and umbrella could all be useful on this tour. Cardiff is a lovely safe city but as with all cities do not leave bags or bicycles unattended.

The tour follows a near circular route with the tour finishing within sight of the start point.

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App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”

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Questions and Reviews

5 / 5

1 Ratings

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