DAYS OUT IN CARDIFF AND SOUTH EAST WALES
The day to go and day to go
plus rider tickets are great value and can be used for some
enjoyable days out.
Here are some
Please note that day to go and day to plus tickets are valid on the day of issue only. The bus times shown below are a
guide to visiting the places shown – other services may also operate to the places mentioned. Please phone
Traveline Cymru on 0871
200 22 33 for details of timetables.
A great day out by the sea – with all the fun of the Fair!
A real favourite for those looking for fun and excitement – a large sandy beach with souvenir shops, cafes and arcades. The
pleasure park has all sorts of rides dominated by the exciting Log Flume and there’s the Vale of Glamorgan Steam Railway Heritage
Centre at Barry Island station with steam train rides over the Causeway to the developing Barry Waterfront area.
Open: All year, but phone (01446) 748816 for train times and fares and Heritage Centre opening times.
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Barry website
Blaenavon World Heritage Site, the Pontypool & Blaenavon Steam Railway and Big Pit -
Network Rider
At the Blaenavon Ironworks World Heritage Site there are the remains of six steam powered blast furnaces where
iron ore was smelted to produce pig iron from 1789 until 1902. Among the many ancient monuments in the area, the surviving
structures of the ironworks are the best preserved of their age and type in the world and are being carefully renovated.
The Pontypool & Blaenavon Steam Railway is
a short line which gives rides to the next station. There’s a good collection of locomotives and rolling stock at this rather
remotely situated line.
At Big Pit take one of the unique underground tours of the former working
colliery guided by experienced miners. With caplamp and helmet you can discover just what life was like for the miners – see the
original mine workings, tunnels and stables on the way to the actual coalface. On the surface you can wander through the colliery
buildings including the engine house, forge and pithead baths, now housing exhibitions and displays.
Blaenavon Ironworks World Heritage site is open all year.
Pontypool & Blaenavon Steam Railway website
Big Pit website
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Brecon Mountain Railway, Merthyr Tydfil -
Network Rider
Enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery of the Brecon Beacons National Park from a narrow gauge steam train! Superb
views of mountains, lakes and forest. There are cafes, shops, a locomotive workshop, walks and picnic areas.
Brecon Mountain Railway website
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre and Legionary Museum -
Network Rider
The Legionary Fortress of ‘Isca’ was one of three principal military bases in Britain. The huge Amphitheatre is
quite amazing and visitors can see the barracks and fortress baths. The Museum in High Street illustrates the history of Roman
Caerleon and its garrison. It tells of the life of a legionary at war and peace – his armour, arms, religious beliefs, leisure
pastimes and even his death.
Caerleon Legionary Museum website
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Caerphilly, with its massive gatehouses, drum towers, rings of walls within walls and elaborate series of inner
and outer moats and lakes is one of the greatest surviving castles of the medieval western world. Dating from 1268, the castle is
remarkably well preserved, except perhaps for the leaning tower – caused by Cromwell’s soldiers trying to blow it up! Caerphilly
has an excellent shopping centre in the latest design concept as well as the old town. There are a number of cafes in the area.
Caerphilly Castle website
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
A view of the transformation of the old Docklands into an impressive 8 mile waterfront development is given in the
strange silver tube at Britannia Park in the Inner Harbour which is the award winning home of the
Cardiff Bay Visitor Centre. Already there is much
to see – the
Hanover Hotel, ‘The
Wharf’ Waterside Venue, Cardiff County Hall, Scott Harbour, Britannia Quay, Mermaid Quay
with the very latest restaurants and café bars, Harry Ramsden’s
world famous silver service fish and chip restaurant, the 5 star Saint
David’s Hotel and Spa, and Techniquest – Britain’s leading science
discovery centre, a popular ‘hands-on’ experience which proves that science can be fun! The Inner Harbour has views over to the
Cardiff Bay Barrage – one of Europe’s largest construction feats – beneath distant Penarth Head which encloses the huge lake
providing the centre-piece for the whole of the regeneration of the Cardiff Bay area. Adjacent to the Visitor Centre is
Lightship 2000 and the Norwegian Church Arts Centre and Café.
Nearby is the elegant red brick Pier Head Building and the sites for the Millennium Centre and the Welsh Assembly Building. The
Atlantic Wharf Leisure Village has a 26 lane bowling and
games zone, 12 screen cinema, night clubs and a variety of cafes and
restaurants.
Open: All year.
Why not try a ride on our brand new
'bendy' bus'? Service 6 operates
around the City Centre then direct to Cardiff Bay!
Click here for
timetable look up.
Waterfront Partners Website
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Castell Coch, The Fairy-Tale Castle -
day to go plus
Perched high above cliffs overlooking the Northern pass into Cardiff,
Castell Coch – the Red Castle – with its fairy-tale turrets and
towers peers out through beautiful beechwoods near Tongwynlais. Its enchanting appearance makes it look as if it should be on the
cliffs above the Rhine, not the Taff! A fortress was built in the 13th Century on foundations which date from the year 700. In
1875 john, the 3rd Marquis of Bute, regarded as the richest man in the world at the time, employed his architect William Burges –
an eccentric genius – to transform the medieval castle into a romantic country retreat. The walls and ceilings in the drawing room
are extravagantly decorated with fabulous murals lavishly illustrating Aesop’s Fables and there’s even a flight of stone steps
leading down into a dungeon. The Lady’s Bedroom with its fantastic furniture has an amazing domed-shaped mirrored and elaborately
decorated ceiling. There is a Tea Shop serving refreshments and light lunches.
Phone (029) 2081 0101 for admission charges.
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Cosmeston Lakes Country Park and Medieval Village -
day to go and
day to go plus
200 acres of parkland, woods and meadows, two beautiful lakes, fascinating wildlife, picnic areas, adventure
playground, visitor centre, shop and café. Take the boardwalk through tall bulrushes and see wild flowers, a variety of birds, and
even foxes, squirrels and many other animals. Daily guided tours by costumed village folk of the 14th Century Medieval Village
reconstructed on its original site with buildings, gardens, rare breeds and a fascinating museum.
Open: All year. Visitor Centre and Café 1000 – 1800 April to September (closes 1600 October to March). Admission
to the Country Park is free. Medieval Village 1100 –1700 in the summer (closes at 1600 in the winter). Phone (029) 2070 1678 for
admission charges to the Medieval Village.
Vale of Glamorgan Council website
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Llancaiach Fawr Living History Museum, Nelson -
Network Rider
Step back in time to the splendid 17th century world of
Llancaiach Fawr and meet the servants of Colonel Edward
Prichard at this award-winning living history museum of the Civil War years. Set in the year 1645, you can try the furniture, feel
the weight of 70lbs of armour and even take a turn in the stocks! Visitor Centre with gift shop, conservatory restaurant and
special exhibition.
Phone (01443) 412248 for admission charges.
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Built in a site first occupied by a religious community founded by St. Teilo in the 6th Century,
Llandaff Cathedral has demonstrated a quiet ability to
survive. Cromwell’s soldiers turned it into an alehouse and it suffered severe bomb damage in world war Two. But the Cathedral
lived on, and after restoration a remarkable new feature was added – Epstein’s awesome sculpture ‘Christ in Majesty’ which
dominates the nave. Llandaff High Street has an attractive range of shops and within the walls of the Bishop’s Palace there is a
quiet garden filled with the scent of herbs.
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Llanerch Vineyard, Hensol -
Network Rider
The largest vineyard in Wales. Produces estate bottled Welsh wines marketed under the ‘Cariad’ label. Take the
‘Vineyard Trail’, taste the wines and visit the high tech ‘Boutique’ winery. The extensive grounds include a six acre vineyard,
landscaped gardens and a country park of woodland and lakes. Visitor centre with coffee shop for light lunches and wine sales.
Phone (01443) 225877 for admission charges.
Llanerch Vineyard website
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Step back into the past! To a primitive Celtic village, the bustle of a pre- war grocery, a 19th Century farmyard
complete with animals, the chill of a Victorian schoolroom
Admission is free. Phone (029) 2057 3500 for details.
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Please note that Bebb Travel does not accept the Family
day to go ticket , Family day to go plus ticket or the
Family Network Rider ticket.
The Esplanade has a number of very good restaurants catering for all tastes, the attractive Italian Gardens, a
Lifeboat Station and the Yacht Club, above which are Windsor Gardens. Alexander Park, which leads from the Pier up to the Town
Centre, with its good range of shops, cafes, pubs, etc, has an aviary, fishpond and many subtropical plants in its attractively
laid out ornamental gardens. The Pier, opened in 1895, is a fine example of Victorian architecture and now fully restored after
work partly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Open: All year.
Vale of Glamorgan Council website
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
The Rhondda Heritage Park is a unique living
history attraction where you can discover the character and culture of the world famous Rhondda Valleys through multi-media
audio-visual presentations and a contemporary artifacts museum. You can take a ‘Cage Ride’ to ‘Pit Bottom’, explore the
underground workings of a 1950’s pit and travel back to the surface in a thrilling ride!
Phone (01443) 682036 for admission charges.
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Roath Park is a wonderful place that’s given pleasure to millions of people over the years. The lighthouse in the
32 acre boating lake is a memorial to Robert Falcon Scott whose ill-fated expedition set out for the South Pole in the steamer
‘Terra Nova’ in June 1910. There are beautiful ornamental gardens with many rare plants and trees, an important rose garden and a
splendid conservatory containing many fascinating plants including bananas, coconuts, coffee, dates, lemons, oranges and
pineapples set around a large pond with a waterfall tumbling over fern clad rocks. There is a pleasant café overlooking the lake.
Open: All year.
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Tintern Abbey, Wye Valley -
Network Rider
Tintern, half way up the Wye Valley, ‘an area of outstanding natural beauty’, is dominated by the soaring ruins of
its medieval abbey and has attracted poets and artists for
centuries. Today, the area is popular with country- lovers who follow the Wye Valley Walk or the Offa’s Dyke Path in the hills
above.
Phone (01291) 689251 for admission charges.
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
Discover what life was like for the Morgan family, Lord Tredegar and their servants. Tours of the house include
the glittering state rooms, elegant family apartments as well as ‘below stairs’. The parkland contains formal gardens, a boating
lake, carriage rides, craft workshops and an adventure playground. There is a gift shop and refreshments are available.
Phone (01633) 815880 for admission charges.
For details of buses that serve this location, please
visit the traveline cymru site.
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