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Once
Tiger Bay, now just plain Cardiff Bay, is a newly re-generated area
of outstandingly modern developments and architectural innovation
surrounding a huge artificial lake.
Cardiff Bay can be reached on foot from the city centre. Simply
find the ruler-straight tree-lined boulevard which is Lloyd George
Avenue, and walk until you reach the water.
You will be greeted by the sight of iconic red
brick Pier Head building, the backdrop for BBC Wales' news bulletins.
The building, once the docks custom house, now contains the Assembly
Interpretation Centre, a display for the National
Assembly for Wales, whose new building the Senedd (Welsh for
Parliament or Senate) is next door. This funnel-topped debating
chamber is eco-friendly, harnessing natural forces to try and offset
energy usage, using wind to ventilate and rain water to flush toilets.
A new national symbol is the Wales Millennium
Centre whose home is also Cardiff Bay, alongside the Roald Dahl
Plass, an oval basin with a giant silver waterfall at its centre.
The Wales Millennium Centre, with its steel roof, Swansea glass,
walls mimicking Nash Point cliffs and Blaenau Ffestiniog slate is
all-Welsh and impossible to ignore.
Around the corner is The Norwegian Church, where
Roald Dahl was christened.
Now an arts centre, it began life as a seaman's mission in 1869
and worship continued there until 1974. Road Dahl was patron of
the society which dismantled the church and rebuilt it in its present
position on the edge of Cardiff Bay.
Outside the entrance to the Norwegian Church
is the icy-looking Scott Memorial, commemorating the recent centenary
anniversary of the 'Age of Antarctic Discovery'. Scott set sail
from Cardiff on his last ill-fated adventure. Designed by Cardiff-based
sculptor Jonathon Williams, the mosaic was inspired by Barcelona's
modernist architect Gaudi. The snow-white abstract piece shows Scott
man-hauling South towards the pole with the faces of his co-explorers
trapped in the ice. A glance through the gap in the centre, which
represents the ice cave from expedition photos, shows the entrance
of Cardiff Bay, a sight of the sea and start of the expedition's
voyage that remains almost the same to this day.
The monument stands on a compass between the
Norwegian Church and the lock where the Terra Nova started its journey.
The proximity to the Church is a poignant reminder that Scott was
beaten to the Pole by Norwegian, Roald Amundsen.
On the other side of the Bay is Techniquest,
Britain's best hands-on science museum and planetarium. Even if
you hate science, with 160 interactive exhibits and live demonstrations,
half a million visitors a year who wander around touching, feeling
and seeing science in action can't be wrong.
Cardiff Bay Visitor Centre, close to the Norwegian
Church, makes a good starting point for your walk around the Bay,
with a scale model of the Bay area, souvenir shop and plenty of
local information.
The Victorian heart of the Bay is Mount Stuart
Square, notable for the Coal Exchange building, where in March 1908
the world's first £1 million cheque was written. It's now
a venue for entertainment, hosting music gigs and events.
Cardiff Bay Barrage was built at a cost of £220m
to convert the mudflats into a 200-hectare freshwater lake. It keeps
the sea out, and is a tourist attraction in its own right. You can
catch a ferry over to the Barrage and see how it works.
Mermaid Quay is where eating and drinking in
Cardiff Bay is made too easy, with the variety of restaurants and
bars. Choose from dim sum, seafood, Japanese, Chinese, Italian,
French, pub grub or Turkish - and there's more besides. Drink in
the labyrinthine pub within a pub, Terra Nova with its wooden terraces
and outdoor seating and watch the people go by, or visit the Glee
Comedy Club.
Soon to come is the Sports Village - which hopes
to be a venue for the 2012 Olympics, with its Olympic pool, ice
rink and new home for the Cardiff Devils Ice Hockey team, and ski
village.
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