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City and County of Cardiff Dinas a Sir Caerdydd
Cardiff City Hall
Flag of City and County of CardiffFlagOfficial seal of City and County of CardiffSeal
Motto(s): Y ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn (The red dragon will lead the way)
Location of the city of Cardiff (Light Green) within the Principality of Wales (Dark Green)
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	Wales
Government
• Leader of Cardiff Council	Rodney Berman
• Welsh Assembly and UK Parliament Consituencies	Cardiff West, Cardiff South and Penarth, Cardiff North, Cardiff Central
• European Parliament	Wales
Population
• City	317,500
• Density	2,268/km (5,870/sq mi)
• Urban	327,706 (2,001)
• Demonym	Cardiffian
• Ethnicity	91.57% White 1.99% Mixed 3.96% S. Asian 1.28% Black 1.20% Chinese or other.
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Post codes	CF3, CF5, CF10, CF11, CF14, CF23, CF24, CF99
Area code	029
Website	http://www.cardiff.gov.uk/

Cardiff (English: Cardiff, Welsh: Caerdydd) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It is administered as a unitary authority. It is in the historic county of Glamorgan. Today, it is the 11th largest city in the United Kingdom and part of the Eurocities network of the largest European cities. Cardiff Urban Area covers a slightly larger area, including Dinas Powys, Penarth and Radyr.

Cardiff is a major UK city being home to the Welsh government in Cardiff Bay and Welsh media. Doctor Who and Torchwood along with other series are filmed mostly within the City and County of Cardiff. Cardiff has the biggest media sector in the UK outside London, being home to several studios BBC Wales, HTV, ITV, S4C being all based in the city. Several radio stations are based in the city such as Red Dragon FM, Xfm, BBC Wales, Real Radio and Radio Wales and many newspapers like the South Wales Echo, Metro and Western Mail are based in Cardiff.

It was a small town until the early 19th century and came to prominence as a major port for the transport of coal following the arrival of industry in the region. Cardiff was made a city in 1905, and proclaimed capital of Wales in 1955.

Geography

Geology

Cardiff is a relatively flat city and its geographic features were influential in its development as one of the world's largest coal ports. Most notably this included its proximity and easy access to the coal fields of the south Wales valleys.

Cardiff is built on reclaimed marshland on a bed of Triassic stones; this reclaimed marshland stretches from Chepstow to the Ely Estuary, which is the natural boundary of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan. Triassic landscapes are usually shallow and low-lying which accounts and explains Cardiff's flatness. The classic Triassic marl, sand and conglomerate rocks are used predominantly throughout Cardiff as building materials. Many of these Triassic rocks have a purple complexion, especially the coastal marl found near Penarth. One of the Triassic rocks used in Cardiff is "Radyr Stone", a freestone which as it name suggests is quarried in the Radyr district. Cardiff has also imported some materials for buildings: Devonian sandstones (the Old Red Sandstone) from the Brecon Beacons has been used. Most famously, the superbly elegant buildings of Cathays Park, arguably Britain's finest civic centre buildings are built of Portland stone which was imported from Dorset. A widely used building stone in Cardiff is the surreal yellow-grey Liassic limestone rock of the Vale of Glamorgan, including the very rare "Sutton Stone", a conglomerate of lias limestone and carboniferous limestone that is, apart from Radyr Stone, the only free-stone in south-east Wales (freestones can be cut to a perfectly smooth surface). The yellowish complexion of the lias limestone used mainly in the city centre gives Cardiff an unusually sunny, light and breezy complexion for a city in Britain.

Cardiff is bordered to the west by the rural district of the Vale of Glamorgan, which is also known as The Garden of Cardiff, to the east by the city of Newport, to the north by the South Wales Valleys and to the south by the Severn Estuary and Bristol Channel. The River Taff winds through the centre of the city and together with the River Ely flows into the freshwater lake of Cardiff Bay. A third river, the Rhymney flows through the east of the city entering directly into the Severn Estuary. A fourth river, the Lleucu has been culverted.

Cardiff is situated near to the Glamorgan Heritage Coast, stretching westward from Penarth and Barry (which are commuter towns of Cardiff), with its striped yellow-blue Jurassic "lias" limestone cliffs that thrust outwards towards the Bristol Channel. The Glamorgan coast is the only part of the Celtic Sea that has exposed Jurassic (blue lias) geology. This west facing stretch of coast, which takes the brunt of brutal Atlantic westerlies and has reefs, sandbanks and serrated cliffs aplenty (like Cornwall) was a ship graveyard during the age of sail; ships sailing up to Cardiff during the industrial era often never made it as far as Cardiff as most were wrecked around this hostile coastline during brutal west/south-westerly gales. Consequently, just like its Celtic cousin in Cornwall, smuggling, deliberate shipwrecking and attacks on ships became a way of life for many people living in the small coastal villages of the Vale.

Cardiff is linked to the west Somerset/North Devon seaside resorts (such as Minehead, Ilfracombe and Lundy Island) via the Paddle Steamer Waverley and MV Balmoral, which sail from Penarth pier, as they have done for over 150 years. Sailing across the Bristol Channel to North Devon is a much a part of Cardiffian life as a pint of Brains and watching rugby union. In fact, Devon's tourist trade began in the 19th century when the paddle steamers spent weekends cruising the Bristol Channel taking the expanding population of Cardiff to places such as Lynmouth, Ilfracombe, Bideford and Clovelly.

v t e Places adjacent to Cardiff
Llantrisant Newport, Cwmbran (enter location) Llantwit Major, Cardiff International Airport, Barry Bristol Channel

Cityscape

Roughly speaking, "Inner Cardiff" can be considered to consist of the following wards: Penylan, Plasnewydd, Gabalfa, Roath, Cathays, Adamsdown and Splott ward on the north and east of the city centre, and Butetown, Grangetown, Riverside and Canton to the south and west. The inner-city areas to the south of the A4161 road known as the "Southern Arc" are, with the exception of affluent and trendy Cardiff Bay, some of the poorest districts of Wales with low levels of economic activity and high ethnic minority populations. The proximity of these areas to Cardiff Bay have led some critics of the project to argue that the regeneration scheme has failed as it has done little to improve the economic prospects of local people, and may have worsened problems of exclusion and alienation. On the other hand Gabalfa, Plasnewydd and Cathays north of the 'arc' have very large student populations, and Pontcanna north of Riverside and alongside Canton is a favourite for young professionals and media types. Penylan which lies to the north east side of Roath Park is an affluent area popular with those with older children and the retired.

"Suburban Cardiff" can be broken down into three distinct areas. To the west lie Ely, Caerau and Fairwater which contain some of the largest housing estates in the United Kingdom. With the exception of some of the outlying privately built estates at Michaelston Super Ely and 1930s developments near Waun-Gron Road, this is an economically disadvantaged area with high numbers of unemployed households. Culverhouse Cross is a more affluent western area of the city. Radyr, Llandaff, Llandaff North, Whitchurch & Tongwynlais, Rhiwbina, Heath, Llanishen, Lisvane, and Cyncoed which lie in an arc from the north west to the north east of the centre can be considered the main middle class suburbs of the city. In particular, Cyncoed, Radyr and Lisvane contain some of the most expensive housing in Wales, and the last of these is likely to see considerable expansion in coming years with the council planning 4,000 houses in the area. Further to the east lie the wards of Pontprennau & Old St Mellons, Rumney, Pentwyn, Llanrumney and Trowbridge. The latter 3 are again largely of public housing stock, although new private housing is being built in Trowbridge in considerable number. Pontprennau is the newest 'suburb' of Cardiff, whilst Old St Mellons has a history going back to the Norman Conquest in the 11th century.

To the north west of the city lies a region that may be called "Rural Cardiff" containing the villages of St. Fagans, Creigiau, Pentyrch, Tongwynlais and Gwalod-y-garth. The last two are primarily "planned" communities developed from the mid 20th century and are popular with families looking for green space close to the city. St. Fagans, home to the Museum of Welsh Life, is protected from further development.

Climate

Cardiff has a temperate climate where summers and winters are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold. More specifically Cardiff has an oceanic climate (also called maritime climate). Oceanic climates are characterized by a narrower annual range of temperatures than are encountered in other places at a comparable latitude, and do not have the extremely dry summers of Mediterranean climates. The maritime climate is affected by the oceans, which help to sustain somewhat stable temperatures throughout the year.

Cardiff has a relatively dry climate compared to most of Wales, with an average rainfall of 1,065 millimetres (41.9 in). It is also a relatively mild city, with an average January temperature of 4.5 °C and an average July temperature of 16 °C

Landmarks

Cardiff has many landmark buildings none more so than the Millennium Stadium, Pierhead Building and the National Assembly for Wales. However Cardiff is also famous for Cardiff Castle, St David's Hall, Llandaff Cathedral, the Wales Millennium Centre and Cathays Park (including municipal buildings modelled on those in New Delhi, such as Cardiff City Hall, the National Museum and Cardiff University).

• The Millennium Stadium
• The Senedd building
• Cardiff Castle
• Llandaff Cathedral
• The Wales Millennium Centre
• Cardiff City Hall
• The National Museum
• Cardiff University

History

The name Cardiff may be an Anglicisation of the Welsh name "Caerdydd". There is uncertainty concerning the origin of "Caerdydd" — "Caer" means "fort" or "castle," but although "Dydd" means "Day" in modern Welsh, it is unclear what was meant in this context. Some believe that "Dydd" or "Diff" was a corruption of "Taff", the river on which Cardiff Castle stands, in which case "Cardiff" would mean "the fort on the river Taff" (in Welsh the T mutates to D).

Others favour a link with Aulus Didius Gallus, as it is known that the Romans established a fort in Cardiff when he was governor of the nearby province, in which case Cardiff might mean "the Fort of Didius". A Norman castle still exists, within the site of the earlier Roman fort, but was substantially altered and extended during the Victorian period by John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, and the architect William Burges. Original Roman work can, however, still be distinguished in the wall facings.

Slaters Commercial Directory states that the town was first named Caerdidi (after Didius), then became corrupted into Caer-Taffe (meaning Fort on the Taff), then Caerdaff, then Cardiff.

There is a second castle north of the city, called Castell Coch (Welsh: "Red Castle"). The current castle is an elaborately decorated Victorian folly designed by Burges for the Marquess and built in the 1870s. However, the Victorian castle stands on the footings of a much older medieval castle possibly built by Ifor Bach, a regional baron with links to Cardiff Castle also. The exterior has become a popular location for film and television productions.

Situated on the narrowest part of the south Wales coastal plain, Cardiff had a crucial strategic importance in the wars between the Normans (who had occupied lowland Wales) and the Welsh who maintained their hold on the uplands. As a result Cardiff claims to have the largest concentration of castles of any city in the world. As well as Cardiff Castle and Castell Coch the remains of Castell Morgraig, Bishop's Castle, Y Twmpath, Ruperra Castle and Saint Fagans Castle are still in existence while Whitchurch Castle and King's Castle have disappeared under later developments.

• Cardiff Castle in the 1890s
• Present day Cardiff Castle keep
• Castell Coch
• St Fagans Castle

Language

Cardiff has a chequered linguistic history with Welsh, English, Latin and Norse dominating at different times. Although it was the Romans who established the "castle on the Taff" it was the Vikings who first began developing the maritime trade from which the town (later to become a city) was to derive its prosperity. The Vikings – who controlled the Bristol Channel – used Cardiff as a raiding base, a port and a trading post. Many street-names in Cardiff are of Viking origin including Dumballs Road and the oldest street in the city, Womanby Street. Womanby Street is a corruption of the original Norse name Humandaby Street. It is most probable that Welsh was the majority language from the 13th century until the city's explosive growth in Victorian times. As late as 1850 five of the twelve Anglican churches within the current city boundaries conducted their services exclusively in Welsh, while only two worshipped exclusively in English.

A substantial Irish population settled in Cardiff during the 19th century. They were drawn to Cardiff by the work available on major building and engineering projects in the docks and the city itself. The intermingling of the Irish, together with migrants from the West Country, the Midlands and rural Wales is credited with having formed the distinctive flat-vowelled "Cardiff accent" (Roots to Cardiff exhibition, 2007). By 1891 the percentage of Welsh speakers had dropped to 27.9% and only Lisvane, Llanedyrn and Creigiau remained as majority Welsh-speaking communities. The Welsh language became grouped around a small cluster of chapels and churches, the most notable of which is Tabernacl in the city centre, one of four UK churches chosen to hold official services to commemorate the new millennium. Following the establishment of the city's first Welsh School (Ysgol Gymraeg Bryntaf) in the 1950s, Welsh has slowly regained some ground.

Aided by Welsh-medium education and migration from other parts of Wales, the number of Welsh speakers in Cardiff rose by 14,451 between 1991 and 2001; Welsh is now spoken by 11% of Cardiffians. The highest percentage of Welsh speakers is in Creigiau, where over 20% of the population speak the language.

Capital city status

King Edward VII granted Cardiff city status on 28 October 1905. It was then proclaimed capital city of Wales on 20 December 1955, by a Written Reply by the Home Secretary Gwilym Lloyd George. Caernarfon had also vied for this title. Cardiff therefore celebrated two important anniversaries in 2005.

The city is county town of Glamorgan, although this role has diminished since council reorganisation in 1974 paired Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan together as the new county of South Glamorgan. Further local government restructuring in 1996 resulted in Cardiff city's district council becoming a unitary authority.

On 1 March 2004, Cardiff was granted Fairtrade City status.

Demographics

Cardiff's population is a growing one, with a likely population of roughly 317,500 in 2006 representing an increase of over 10,000 since the 2001 Census figure of 305,353. Cardiff Council have predicted a growth of 16,000 in the decade following 2011, which, extrapolating current growth rates until that date would give a population of the city of 349,000 in 2021.

The ethnic make-up of Cardiff's population, at the time of the 2001 census was: 91.6% white, 2% mixed race, 4% South Asian, 1.3% Black, 1.2% Other ethnic origin.

Official estimates derived from the census may not be factually accurate. The city council has published two articles that argue the 2001 census seriously under reports the population of Cardiff and, in particular, the ethnic minority population of some inner city areas. If this work is given credence, a current official population of approximately 340,000 with up to 11% ethnic minority would be preferred.

Religion

Since 1922 Cardiff has included the suburban cathedral 'village' of Llandaff, whose bishop is currently Archbishop of Wales. There is also a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city. Since 1916 Cardiff has been the seat of a Catholic archbishop, but there appears to have been a fall in the estimated Catholic and Jewish populations of the city (two synagogues, one in Cyncoed and one in Moira Terrace, as opposed to at least three in the mid-20th century). There are a significant number of Nonconformist chapels, an early 20th century Greek Orthodox church and about ten mosques.

In the 2001 census 66.9% of the city's population described themselves as Christian, below the Welsh and UK average, while 3.7% described themselves as Muslim, significantly above the Welsh average but in line with the UK average. The proportion of people declaring themselves to be Hindu, Sikh and Jewish were all considerably higher than the Welsh averages, but less than the UK figures. 18.8% stated they had no religion, while 8.6% did not state a religion. Paganism is also enjoying a rebirth in Wales, though followers remain minute in number.

Cardiff has one of the longest-established muslim populations in the UK, descended from Yemeni sailors who settled in the city in the 19th century. The first mosque in the UK (at 2 Glynrhondda Street, the site of what is now known as the Al-Manar Islamic Centre) opened in 1860 in the Cathays district of Cardiff . Cardiff is now home to over 11000 muslims from a large variety of different nationalities and backgrounds.

Economy

As the capital city of Wales, Cardiff is the main engine of growth in the Welsh economy and conveys economic, social and cultural benefits across the wider region. The economy of Cardiff and adjacent areas makes up nearly 20% of Welsh GDP and 40% of the city’s workforce are daily in-commuters from the surrounding south Wales area.

Cardiff is increasingly benefiting from a raised international profile and has enjoyed significant growth over the last decade or more, spearheaded by the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay. Widely regarded as one of the United Kingdom’s most successful regeneration projects, the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay has involved the revitalisation of 1,100 hectares of decaying and derelict land in the city’s former dockland area with residential, retail, commercial and leisure developments. A major feature of the regeneration project has been the £220 million Cardiff Bay Barrage, which has created Europe’s largest city centre waterfront.

Total employment in Cardiff rose from 149,000 in 1991 to 173,200 in 2001 and between 2000 and 2001 employment levels in the city grew by 3% – more than double the rate across Great Britain (1.3%). Following the decline of the city’s heavy industry in the latter part of the 20th century, the economy of Cardiff is now dominated by the service sector (see table of employment by industry below) with just 9% of employees – 15,650 individuals – engaged in manufacturing activities.

Public administration, education and health is the largest sector in Cardiff, providing employment for 32% of the city’s workforce. Cardiff is the main financial and business services centre in Wales and as such, the sector provides employment for 20% of the city’s workforce.

One in five employees (20.4%) in Cardiff are based in the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector, highlighting the growing retail and tourism industries in the city. Cardiff has a thriving retail and shopping centre, and the city was named as the 6th best shopping location in the UK in the 2003 Experian Retail Ranking, falling to 8th place in 2004. However a major £675 million, regeneration programme for Cardiff's St. David's Centre will create the UK's largest city centre shopping centre.

Industry

What transformed Cardiff into a big city was the demand for iron, brought to the sea by packhorse from Merthyr Tydfil. The Ironmasters, the proprietors of the smelters in Dowlais and Merthyr, wanted to reduce the cost of carrying iron by road to ships berthed in the estuary of the River Taff at Cardiff. They sought permission of Parliament to build a 25-mile (40 km) long canal from Merthyr (510 feet above sea-level) to the Taff Estuary at Cardiff.

Work on building the Glamorganshire Canal began in 1790, took eight years and involved installing 50 locks. The Cardiff Sea Lock, which enabled barges to unload iron into sea-going ships, was built at Harrowby Street (Harrowby - a Viking place-name - had been the original Norse trading post in Cardiff). Eventually the Taff Vale Railway replaced the canal barges and massive marshalling yards sprang up as new docks were developed in Cardiff - all prompted by the soaring world-wide demand for south Wales coal.

Cardiff's port, known as Tiger Bay, became the busiest port in the world and - for some time - the world's most important coal port. Indeed, Cardiff's Coal Exchange was reputedly the first host to a business deal for a £million pounds Sterling.

The Tiger Bay area also housed one of the UK's earliest immigrant communities. After a long period of neglect as Cardiff Bay, it is now being regenerated as a popular area for arts, entertainment and nightlife. Much of the growth has been thanks to the building of the Cardiff Barrage.

Present day

Today, Cardiff is the principal finance and business services centre in Wales, and as such there is a strong representation of finance and business services in the local economy. In December 2003, 33,850 individuals were employed in the sector - higher than the proportion across both Wales (9.6%) and Great Britain (15.4%).

Legal & General, Admiral Insurance, HBOS, Zurich, ING Direct, The AA, Principality Building Society, 118118, British Gas, Brains, SWALEC Energy and BT (based in Stadium House all operate large contact centres in the city, many based in Cardiff's skyscrapers such as Capital Tower and Brunel House. Other major employers include NHS Wales and the National Assembly for Wales.

Cardiff is home to the Welsh media. BBC Wales, S4C and ITV Wales have their studios in the city and the UK's largest film, TV & multimedia sector outside London. Employment in the sector has grown significantly in recent years, and currently provides employment for 2.1% of the city's workforce - higher than the level across Wales (1.1%) and marginally lower than that across Great Britain as a whole (2.2%).

Retail also plays a strong role in the city's employment, with it being crowned the 8th best place to shop in the UK according to recent surveys, and this ranking is likely to rise into the top 5 once the St. David's 2 shopping development is completed. The majority of Cardiff's shopping portfolio is in the city centre around Queen Street and St. Mary's Street. There are also numerous suburban retail parks, serving the city. Cardiff is also reputed to have the oldest record shop in the world in Spillers Records, which was established in 1894.

The city is also host to S A Brain, a brewery with premises in Cardiff since 1882. The current brewery is located next to Central Station.

In 2003 Cardiff combined with the Vale of Glamorgan had a GDP of £8.335 billion GBP. The GDP per head was £18,794, making the city more affluent than the UK as a whole, at 116% of the UK average or 146% of the Welsh average.

Telecommunications

029 is the telephone dialling code for Cardiff. However it is vastly misconceived (in the city but on a larger scale in South Wales) to be 02920 because initially all numbers began with 20. In fact, a question asked on The People Versus, from a viewer in Newport, asked the telephone code of Cardiff and the presenter gave the answer as 02920, which the contestant didn't know. Currently all newly issued numbers begin with 21.

The code includes the neighbouring towns on Penarth, Dinas Powys and Caerphilly.

The city's dialling code changed on 22 April 2000 from 01222 to 029 in the Big Number Change along with London, Coventry, Portsmouth, Southampton and Northern Ireland in response to the rapid late 1990s growth of telecommunications and impending exhaustion of numbers. This measure increased the numbers of digits in the subscriber telephone number from 6 to 8, therefore vastly increasing the possible telephone numbers available. Simply changing from 01222 to 02920 would not have changed anything.

Ofcom has allocated the range of telephone numbers from (029) 2018 0000 to (029) 2018 0999 to be used for drama purposes in television and radio. These numbers will not be allocated to telephone companies in the foreseeable future.

Culture

See List of cultural venues in Cardiff

Cardiff has a varied culture, with sites varying from the historical Cardiff Castle and out of town Castell Coch to the more modern Wales Millennium Centre and Cardiff Bay. Cardiff was a finalist in the European Capital of Culture 2008. In recent years Cardiff has grown in stature as a tourist destination, with recent accolades including Cardiff being voted the eighth favourite UK city by readers of the Guardian and the city being listed as one of the top 10 destinations in the UK on the official British tourist boards website Visit Britain. . Finally US travel guide Frommers have listed Cardiff as one of 13 top destinations worldwide for 2008.

Attractions

Cardiff is home to Cardiff Castle, the National Assembly for Wales, St. David's Hall, the National Museum and Gallery, and Cathays Park (including municipal buildings modelled on those in New Delhi), and the Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral. The Welsh National Opera moved into the Wales Millennium Centre in November 2004.

Cardiff Castle is a major tourist attraction in the city and is situated in the heart of the city centre, near to the main shopping area of Queen Street and St. Mary's Street. The National History Museum at St Fagans in Cardiff is a large open air museum housing dozens of buildings from throughout Welsh history that have been moved to the site in Cardiff.

Other major tourist attractions are the Cardiff Bay regeneration sites which include the recently opened Wales Millennium Centre and the National Assembly for Wales and many other cultural and sites of interest including the Cardiff Bay Barrage and the famous Coal Exchange. The New Theatre was founded in 1906 and completely refurbished in the 1980s. Until the opening of the Wales Millennium Centre in 2004, it was the premier venue in Wales for touring theatre and dance companies, and is located in the city centre.

Other venues which are popular for gigs and sporting events include Cardiff International Arena, St David's Hall and the Millennium Stadium and the city is often the only place in Wales chosen by major touring bands and singers in which to perform.

Festivals

The Big Weekend Festival, is held annually in late July/August in the city centre and is the place for many theme park events, rides and regularly attracts annually over 200,000 visitors. The annual Cardiff Festival claims to be the UK's largest free outdoor festival and plays host to a range of different festivals including the Children's Festival that takes place in the grounds of Cardiff Castle.

Cardiff hosted the National Eisteddfod in 1883, 1899, 1938, 1960 and 1978, and is set to host it again in 2008. Cardiff is unique in Wales in having two permanent stone circles used by the Gorsedd of Bards during Eisteddfodau. The original circle stands in Gorsedd Gardens in front of the National Museum while its 1978 replacement is situated in Bute Park.

Every other year, Cardiff plays host to the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, a world renowned event on the opera calendar.

Cardiff Philatelic Society is the oldest Philatelic Society in Wales. It was founded in 1899. Early postcards of Cardiff can be seen on the website

The city now hosts The Cardiff Design Festival and began showcasing the best of Welsh design during the summer of 2005. Since then the festival has grown into a diverse range of designers exhibiting their wares at the 2006 portable exhibition.

Parks

Cardiff's city centre is a particularly green one with Bute Park, formerly the castle grounds, extending northwards from the top of one of Cardiff's main shopping street (Queen Street); when combined with the adjacent Llandaff Fields to the north west it produces a massive open space skirting the River Taff. The popular name of Taffy, for the Welshman abroad has its origins in the name of the river. Other popular parks include Roath Park in the north, donated to the city by the 3rd Marquess of Bute in 1887 and which includes a very popular boating lake; Victoria Park, Cardiff's first official park; and Thompson's Park, formerly home to an aviary removed in the 1970s.

In 2006 Cardiff won the prestigious Entente Floral award for large cities due to the beauty of its parks and floral displays.

Music and nightlife

The Cardiff music scene is established and wide-ranging. It is the home to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Welsh National Opera. It has produced several leading acts itself and, as a capital city, has acted as a springboard for numerous Welsh bands to go and become famous both nationally and internationally. These include Charlotte Church, The Automatic, Catatonia, Super Furry Animals, Jem, Funeral for a Friend, Lostprophets, Bullet for My Valentine, Stereophonics, Manic Street Preachers, The Oppressed, Kids In Glass Houses, Los Campesinos, The Hot Puppies, Pagan Wanderer Lu, Budgie, and Shakin' Stevens among others.

Cardiff has a strong nightlife, well established in the UK, let alone Wales, and is home to many bars, pubs and clubs. Most clubs and bars are situated in the city centre, especially St. Mary's Street, and more recently Cardiff Bay has built up a strong night scene, with many modern bars & restaurants. The Brewery Quarter on St. Mary's Street is a recently developed venue for bars and restaurant with a central courtyard. Charles Street is also a popular part of the city.

Shopping

Cardiff city centre has three main shopping arcades; St. David's Centre, Queen's Arcade and the Capitol Centre. The current expansion of St. David's Centre as part of the St. David's 2 project is allowing a huge piece of land between The Hayes and Charles Street to be demolished and redeveloped, bringing around 200 shops, flats and a John Lewis department store to the city. As well as these modern shopping arcades, the city is still home to many Victorian shopping centres, such as High Street Arcade, Castle Arcade, Wyndham Arcade, Royal Arcade and Morgan Arcade.

Cardiff was named the 4th shopping hotspot in the U.K on the 7th of December 2007 for best Christmas shopping hotspots.

There are two main shopping streets in the city centre. Queen Street is home to the main chain stores such as Topshop, Topman, Boots, Gap, Dorothy Perkins, Primark, and Zara to name a few. The second main street, St. Mary Street, is home to Wales' oldest and largest department store, Howells. It is also home to smaller independent stores, but is mainly a beverage only high street.

Cardiff has a number of markets: these include the vast Victorian indoor Cardiff Central Market, and a smaller 'fruit & veg' style St. David's Market on Barrack Lane which will be improved with the coming of St. David's 2. In recent years the Sunday Riverside Market situated on the west bank of the Taff opposite the Millennium Stadium has gone from strength to strength with its blend of local and organic farmers' produce appealing to a more environmentally conscious population.

Several out-of-town retail parks exist, such as Newport Road, Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff Gate and Cardiff Bay.

There have been a number of issues relating to city centre shopping, most recently the cost of parking in the city centre, along with the banning of private cars on St. Mary's Street. Both have been heavily criticised by some sectors of the public and retailers.

Walks

In addition to the many parks, Cardiff has walks of special interest for tourists and ramblers alike, such as the Centenary Walk, which runs for 2.3 miles (3.7 km) within Cardiff city centre. It passes through many of Cardiff's landmarks and historic buildings.

The Taff Trail, which is a walking and cycle path running for 55 miles (88.5 km) between Cardiff Bay and Brecon. It runs through Bute Park, Sophia Gardens and many other green areas within Cardiff. It is possible to cycle the entire distance of the Trail almost completely off-road, as it largely follows the River Taff and many of the old disused railways of the Glamorganshire valleys.

Media

See Also: Media in Wales

Cardiff is the base for the national television broadcasters including BBC Wales, ITV1 Wales, S4C, and Capital TV - Cardiff's own local television service.

The main local newspaper, the South Wales Echo and the national paper the Western Mail are based in the Western Mail and Echo building in the city centre. Capital Times, Cardiff Post and the South Wales edition of Metro are also based and distributed in the city. There are also a number of magazines based in the city including Jazz UK, Buzz magazine, Primary Times and a monthly Welsh language paper called Y Dinesydd (The Citizen).

Red Dragon FM is the main radio station serving South Wales, it is based in the Red Dragon Centre. A number of other radio stations also serve and are based in Cardiff including Real Radio, BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Cymru.

Xfm has started broadcasting from Cardiff as of 29th Novemember 2007, making the south Wales region it's fourth dedicated area.

Cardiff in Sci-fi and Fantasy

Cardiff is the chief location in the revival (2005-) of the BBC TV programme Doctor Who, the series having been mainly filmed in and around the city (it is made for the BBC network by BBC Wales). The 2006 spin-off show, Torchwood, is also filmed in Cardiff and set in the real-life modern city (as were two episodes of Doctor Who: "Boom Town" and Briefly in "Utopia" ). It has been claimed that 1 out of 5 tourists to Cardiff choose to visit after seeing it on TV (The Sun, Monday 17 April 2006). In these two series, it is claimed there is a rift in time and space that transects Cardiff.

Cardiff is also the birthplace of Dalek creator Terry Nation and popular children's author Roald Dahl.

Cardiff was referenced by Tom Jones in the Tim Burton film Mars Attacks and was the setting for several scenes in the film Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man.

Sports

The city has a regional rugby union team, the Cardiff Blues, who play in the Magners League at their Cardiff Arms Park stadium. Cardiff also has several amateur rugby clubs too.

Cardiff has one main professional football club, Cardiff City F.C. who currently play in the English Coca-Cola Championship and are also known locally as the Bluebirds. Their current stadium is Ninian Park located to the south of the city, however a new stadium is currently under construction in nearby Leckwith, which is due to be opened in 2009, and will be shared with the Cardiff Blues. Cardiff has numerous smaller clubs such as Grange Harlequins A.F.C. UWIC and Ely Rangers A.F.C. who all play in the Welsh Football System.

Cardiff also has a county cricket side, Glamorgan CCC, who play at the city centre's Sophia Gardens ground, and will undergo a multi-million pound improvement in time to host a Test Match as part of The Ashes in 2009. Cardiff also plays host to a rugby league side, Cardiff Demons and a professional ice-hockey team, the Cardiff Devils. The Cardiff Marathon takes place in the city every October and attracts several thousand participants and spectators.

Cardiff is the principal home of the sport of Welsh or British Baseball, and hosts the annual England-Wales international game every four years, usually at Roath Park.

Cardiff hosted the 1958 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. The Wales Empire Swimming Pool was demolished to make way for the Millennium Stadium. The pool in Swansea will remain as the Welsh National Pool until the 50 metre replacement pool will be built in Cardiff Bay as part of the International Sports Village. Of the venues used for the Games only the cycling track at Maindy remains. Cardiff also plays host to motorsport's World Rally Championship as part of Wales Rally GB.

The city also features an international sporting venue, the 74,500 capacity Millennium Stadium, where the Welsh rugby team and the Welsh national football team plays. The 1999 Rugby Union World Cup final was held at the Millennium Stadium, and also doubles up as a venue for other concerts and festivals. The first ever indoor special stages of the World Rally Championship were held at the Millennium Stadium in September 2005. One of the annual Speedway Grand Prixs is staged in the Millenium Stadium, on purpose built full size track, each year. The Grand Prix is a round of the World Speedway Championship event. Speedway was staged at Cardiff White City greyhound stadium during the pre-war era with the first meeting being staged around Christmas 1928. In the early 1950s, a dedicated speedway stadium was constructed and the Cardiff Dragons raced in the National league for a short spell.

Government and politics

Cardiff is host to the National Assembly for Wales, which is situated in Cardiff Bay. The building which is now known as the Senedd (Welsh for Legislature, Parliament or Senate) was opened on 1 March 2006, by The Queen. The executive and civil servants of the Welsh Assembly Government are based in Cardiff's Cathays Park while the Assembly Members, the Assembly Parliamentary Service and Ministerial support staff are based in Cardiff Bay.

Cardiff Council is based at County Hall in Atlantic Wharf, Cardiff Bay.

Cardiff elects 4 AMs to the Welsh Assembly and 4 MPs to the UK Parliament. There is also an electoral region for Cardiff, South Wales Central, that provides top-up seats to parties in the Assembly. Cardiff is part of the Wales constituency in European Parliament elections.

Local government

Since local government reorganisation in 1996, Cardiff has been governed by The City and County Council of Cardiff. Voters elect 75 councillors every four years, with the next elections due to be held in 2008.

Following the 2004 local elections, no individual political party has a majority on Cardiff City Council. The Liberal Democrats have 32 councillors (33 were elected, but one councillor crossed the floor to Plaid Cymru) and have formed a minority administration, Labour have 27, the Conservatives have 10 (12 elected but two now form the Independent Group), Plaid Cymru have 4 (3 elected, and one former Liberal Democrat) and two former Conservatives currently sit as Independents. The Leader of the Council, Cllr Rodney Berman, is from the Liberal Democrats.

National Assembly for Wales

The National Assembly for Wales has been based in Cardiff Bay since its formation in 1999. Cardiff elects 4 constituency Assembly Members (AMs) to the Assembly, with the individual constituencies for the Assembly being the same as for the UK Parliament. All of the city's residents have an extra vote for the South Wales Central region which increases proportionality to the Assembly. The most recent Welsh Assembly elections were held on 3 May 2007.

Political representation

Cardiff is presently split into four parliamentary constituencies which form the electoral basis for elections to the United Kingdom Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales.

The constituencies and their representatives are:

• Cardiff Central: MP Jenny Willott, AM Jenny Randerson (Both Liberal Democrat)
• Cardiff North: MP Julie Morgan (Labour), AM Jonathan Morgan (Conservative)
• Cardiff South and Penarth: MP Alun Michael, AM Lorraine Barrett (Both Labour)
• Cardiff West: MP Kevin Brennan, AM Rhodri Morgan (Both Labour)

The South Wales Central Assembly Region elects four Assembly Members to serve the area covered by Cardiff, Rhondda-Cynon-Taf and the Vale of Glamorgan local authority areas. These are currently:

• David Melding (Conservative)
• Andrew R. T. Davies (Conservative)
• Leanne Wood (Plaid Cymru)
• Christopher Franks (Plaid Cymru)

Famous politicians who have represented Cardiff constituencies include:

• Lord Callaghan
• George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy

Transport

Cardiff is the major transport hub in Wales and is the focus for many arterial road and rail routes that connect the city to the rest of Wales and England.

Road

The M4 motorway is the principal motorway in the region that connects Cardiff with Newport and Bridgend, towns in West Wales such as Swansea and Carmarthen, and also cities in England, principally, Bristol and London. Cardiff is served by junctions 29-34 inclusive and is about 30-45 minutes from the Severn Bridge.

The A48(M) motorway is another motorway within the city, linking the M4 to the city centre and the eastern suburbs. The A470 is another major road within the city that provides an important link with the Heads of the Valleys, Mid and North Wales.

As with many other cities car traffic has caused congestion problems and as such the council has designated bus lanes to improve transport into and out of the city centre. The council has also revealed plans to introduce congestion charging, as in London, but only once there has been significant investment in the city's public transport network.

There are several road and rail bridges that cross the River Taff in Cardiff. These include the Clarence Road Bridge, a comparatively modern bridge which replaced a swing bridge. The original bridge was named after the Duke of Clarence.

There are several taxi companies serving the city. Major Taxi Ranks in the city centre are found at The Hayes, Central Station, Wood Street, Greyfriars Road and St. Mary's Street.

Cycling and walking

Much of Cardiff's central shopping zone is pedestrianised, and further pedestrianisation is planned as part of the current St David's 2 regeneration scheme.

Although cycling in Cardiff is made easier by its relative flatness, provision for cycling within the city is fairly poor compared with many cities. Despite its adoption of positive policies on health and environment, Cardiff Council continues to implement major transport and regeneration projects without properly integrating the urban cyclist.

The Taff Trail runs for 55 miles (88 km) alongside the River Taff, from Cardiff Bay to the market town of Brecon in the Brecon Beacons National Park. On Sundays in summer the Beacons Bike Bus enables cyclists to take their bikes into the Beacons and then ride back to Cardiff along the Trail.

Bus

See Also: Cardiff Central Bus Station

Cardiff has a comprehensive bus network, with council-owned Cardiff Bus providing the vast majority of routes in the city and as well as Newport, Penarth, Barry, Cardiff International Airport and Llantwit Major. Cardiff Bus has introduced "bendy buses" on the popular 17 and 18 routes to Canton, Ely and Caerau and on the Cardiff Bay route. Its hub is Cardiff Central Bus Station.

National Express provides direct services to most cities in the UK, including high frequency services to nearby Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil, as well as major English and Scottish cities. Megabus also operates frequent discounted services to London.

Railways

Cardiff has a suburban rail system under the name of Valley Lines, which is operated by Arriva Trains Wales. There are eight lines which serve 20 stations in the city, 26 in the wider urban area (including Taffs Well, Penarth and Dinas Powys) and more than 60 in the South Wales valleys and the Vale of Glamorgan.

Cardiff Central Railway Station is the largest railway station in Wales with 7 platforms and one of the busiest in the UK. It provides direct services to major cities such as Newport, Bristol, Birmingham, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Southampton, Portsmouth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as serving as an interchange for services from West Wales. There is also a regular shuttle service to Holyhead (for ferries to Ireland) and Wrexham in North Wales.

Cardiff Queen Street railway station is the second busiest in Wales and is hub for routes via the Valley Lines services that connect the South Wales valleys and the Cardiff suburbs with the city centre and is situated on the north-eastern end of the city centre which is quite convenient for shoppers. This station also provides services to Cardiff Bay (from Platform 3), these do not call at Central.

Cardiff benefits from having a centralised and integrated transport system. The central bus and railway stations are sited together, at Central Square, in the centre of the city, allowing passengers to easily utilise both methods of transport in journeys.

Proposals to include a light-rail network in the city have been shelved due to rising costs.

Water

Two waterbus firms operate half-hourly services between Cardiff city centre to Cardiff Bay and onto Penarth. Throughout March to October boats also depart Cardiff Bay taking visitors to Flat Holm Island

Air

Cardiff and South & West Wales are served by Cardiff International Airport (CWL), the only international airport in the Wales. It provides links domestically and internationally. It is situated in the village of Rhoose, 10 miles (16 km) west of the city. There are regular bus services linking the airport with the Cardiff Central Bus Station as well as a train service from Rhoose Cardiff International Airport railway station to Cardiff Central. The airport is the fastest growing Airport in the UK and is expected to have its passangers increase 150% by 2015

Time Zone

Cardiff time is the same as the rest of the UK, in that it is in the Western European Time zone; GMT is the standard time and in summer Western European Summer Time

Education

Universities and colleges

Cardiff is home to four major institutions of higher education: Cardiff University, founded by Royal Charter in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire, is a "red brick" university and member of the Russell Group of leading research led universities; University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC) gained university status in 1992; The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama is a conservatoire established in 1949 and is based in the grounds of Cardiff Castle. The University of Glamorgan has a Cardiff campus, ATRiuM, which is home to the Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries. The total number of higher education students in the city will thus be around 45,000. The city also has two further education only colleges: Coleg Glan Hafren and St. David's College, although further education is offered at most high schools in the city.

Cardiff University was home to Millicent McKenzie who was possibly the first female in Britain to be addressed as ‘professor’, becoming associate professor in 1904 and full professor in 1910. Famous alumni of Cardiff University include Neil Kinnock, Glenys Kinnock, millionaire businessman and philanthropist Julian Hodge, the BBC newsreader Huw Edwards, and fellow BBC personalities Jeremy Bowen and Adrian Chiles.

Schools

Cardiff has eighty-three state primary schools (two bilingual, ten Welsh medium), and twenty state secondary schools, of which two are Welsh medium. There are also a number of independent schools in the city, including Llandaff Cathedral School, Kings Monkton and Howell's School, a single-sex girls' school (until sixth form). Notable schools include Whitchurch High School, the largest in Wales, and Fitzalan High School one of the most multi-cultural state schools in the UK; Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Glantaf the largest Welsh medium secondary in the country. Also, Cardiff High School which has exceptional academic achievement and is rated one of the best in the UK.

As well as academic institutions, Cardiff is also home to other educational and learning organisations such as Techniquest, a hands on science discovery centre that now has franchises throughout Wales. Techniquest is also part of the Wales Gene Park in collaboration with Cardiff University, NHS Wales and the Welsh Development Agency (WDA).

International Baccalaureate Organisation

Cardiff is also home of the largest regional office of the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IB). The curriculum and assessment centre, which is responsible for overseeing the creation and grading of various IB assessments is located in Cardiff, as are the offices of various professional support services.

Health

There are seven major hospitals in the city. The University Hospital of Wales, which is also known simply as 'The Heath' or the 'UHW', is the third largest hospital in the UK and deals with most accidents and emergencies. Llandough Hospital is located in the south of the city. The city's newest hospital, St. David's Hospital (built behind the former building) is located in the Canton area and provides services for the elderly and children. Cardiff Royal Infirmary closed in 1999 but reopened as a medical centre in 2003. There is also Rookwood Hospital, Llandaff and Velindre Hospital, and Whitchurch Hospital. BUPA has a hospital in the city which is located in Pentwyn.

Twinning

Cardiff has twinning arrangements with:*

• File:Coat of Arms of Luhansk Oblast.gif Luhans'k, Ukraine
• Pernik, Pernik Province Bulgaria
• Bergen, Hordaland, Norway
• Nantes, Pays de la Loire France
• Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• Xiamen, Fujian, China

See also

• Cardiff Bay
• Cardiff city centre
• Cardiff music scene
• List of cultural venues in Cardiff
• List of Parliamentary constituencies in South Glamorgan
• List of places in Cardiff
• National Assembly for Wales
• Wikitravel:Cardiff
• Big Number Change
• Erroneous UK telephone codes
• UK telephone numbering plan

References

1. "Cardiff Council 2006 Official Estimate". Retrieved 14 December 2007.
2. Eurocities, Retrieved on 12 November
3. The Garden of Cardiff
4. River Lleucu
5. Met Office statistics
6. Met Office statistics
7. Weather Statistics
8. ""GENUKI: UK & ireland Geneology - Cardiff". Retrieved 2007-12-06.
9. Cardiff as Capital of Wales: Formal Recognition by Government. The Times. 21 December 1955.
10. Ansari, Humayun (2004). The Infidel Within: Muslims in Briatin Since 1800. London: C. Hurst & Co. p. 429. ISBN 1-85065-685-1 (paperbound) / 1-85065-686-X (harbound). {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
11. "From scholarship, sailors and sects to the mills and the mosques". 2002-06-18. Retrieved 2007-07-12.
12. "Census 2001 - Profiles - Cardiff". Retrieved 2007-07-12.
13. Office for National Statistics, 2001. In 2004, the GVA of Cardiff grew at 1% faster than the average for the UK so that it was 117% of UK GVA or 150% of UK GVA. (or . (PDF)
14. Number ranges allocated by OFCOM for drama purposes
15. "Observer Travel Awards: Your holiday winners". 2007-11-04. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
16. "Visit Britain". Retrieved 2007-12-12.
17. "Frommer's Top Destinations for 2008". 2007-12-04. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
18. Red Dragon Centre
19. http://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=1604&langtype=1033
20. Time zone in Cardiff
21. Cardiff University
23. Cardiff Council
24. Cardiff Council
25. Techniquest
26. Wales Gene Park

External links

• Cardiff, BBC
• Cardiff Council site
• Menter Caerdydd (Welsh Language Initiative for Cardiff)
• View of Cardiff from Space
• Cardiff Records: the full text of the edition of historical records for Cardiff, edited by J. H. Matthews (1898-1905.) Part of British History Online.
• Cardiff World Site
• Cardiff timeline etc. at Cardiffians.co.uk

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