Cardiff Bay Self-Guided Walking Tour

Welcome to Helen’s self-guided tour around Cardiff Bay. I am a Chartered Geographer with 25 years’ experience of teaching secondary school students and leading fieldwork. I first ran fieldwork to Cardiff Bay in 2002, when it was undergoing huge transformations. It is now a vibrant part of the city, with a rich heritage to be found if you know where to look. I have followed the development of the Bay for over 20 years, and so I’m excited to be showing you around today. We begin our tour at the Cardiff Bay Wetlands Reserve. We’ll walk around the Bay towards the east in a clockwise direction, taking in historic sites, such as the Pierhead Building that sits in the centre of the Bay and more modern sights such as the Senedd, the home of the Welsh Parliament. We’ll walk the length of the barrage and end our tour at The Old Customs House. If at any point in the tour you feel lost, return to the waterside, walk with the water to your right, and you’ll be back on the correct route. Throughout the tour, I’m going to give you some insider recommendations about the best places to visit. I’ll also recommend a couple of places to eat and drink, but Cardiff Bay is sadly a little lacking in independent food and drink outlets, so you’ll be familiar with many of the cafes, restaurants and bars already. The tour follows a linear route covering approximately 2.5 miles. The tour should take between two and two and a half hours to complete. At the end of the tour, there is the option to take a shorter route back to the start via the various harbour cruises and waterbuses. I’ve always found these to be very reasonably priced and they offer a brilliant view of the bay that you don’t get from the waterfront. If you decide not do this, a direct walk back with no stops should take an additional forty minutes.