Tredegar House, Newport

17 to 21 September

Hymns and Arias

I have been hankering to go to Pembrokeshire for some time and with the help of some interesting articles in MMM I managed to win John over.  With the dates set but the itinerary vague, but to include walking and cycling, John was then lucky enough to secure four tickets for the Wales – Uruguay World Cup Rugby Match on 20 September at the Millenium Stadium Cardiff for ourselves and friends Barbara and Clive.  We booked two pitches at the Caravan Club Site at Tredegar House near Newport for the weekend and began to get excited.  In the meantime, I managed to twist my knee!

We arrived at Tredegar House on Thursday evening and decided to spend Friday in Cardiff, giving us an opportunity to try out the bus route in readiness for the match on Sunday.  Although the site is close to the main road, just the other side of a high brick wall, it's a circuitous 15-20 minute walk to the bus stop. The bus arrived per timetable (£3.50 per person for a dayrider) but due to heavy traffic the journey took 50 minutes rather than the scheduled 35.  We had an enjoyable walk past the Millenium Centre to the Waterfront and had lunch outside one of the restaurants to make the most of the warm sunshine.  (There was also a very heavy rain shower, but we were largely protected by the sun canopy!)  We walked further to the BBC Studio where they film Dr Who and John was fleetingly tempted to go into The World of Boats museum.  However, we had noticed that the Cardiff Photography Club had its annual exhibition at The Pierhead, the old harbour offices, so decided to take a look at that instead.

Millenium Centre

The Pierhead

We then popped into the Norwegian Church, to look at an art exhibition and to have a cup of tea in the cafe.

Norwegian Church

This building, constructed in 1868 to cater for the many Norwegian sailors arriving on the vessels using the port, is modelled on a traditional Norwegian Church.  It was in use as a church until 1974, when a preservation society under the presidency of Roald Dahl (who had been christened here) restored and renovated the building.  Outside is a striking modern memorial to Captain Robert Scott and his colleagues, whose ill-fated 1912 Antarctic expedition made their last port of call in Cardiff.

Memorial to Capt Robert Scott

Barbara and Clive arrived midday on Saturday and we spent an enjoyable afternoon at Tredegar House.  It was so nice to have an attraction on the doorstep.  The 17^th century house was home to the Morgan family and is reckoned to be one of the finest examples of a Restoration mansion in Britain.  We explored the grand stable block, which now houses an unexpected lodger. 

Stable Block

Unexpected lodger

We wandered around the formal gardens in the sunshine and had some interesting talks from the volunteers on life below stairs in the Victorian kitchens.

Sunday was the highlight of the weekend and we caught an early bus into Cardiff, giving us time to savour the atmosphere in the city before making our way to the stadium.  Clive (a Welshman) had kindly loaned John and me Wales shirts in return for switching our allegiance from England for the day.  We even went as far as buying a Welsh flag and took a few photos to record the day.

The match result made us happy (particularly Clive) although we all felt that there had been very little atmosphere in the stadium.

Close to Tredegar House bus stop there is a pub (The Dragonfly) and we celebrated the win over a meal and glass (or two) before making our way back to the site.

Sunday had been another warm day, but Monday was forecast to be very wet, with rain continuing for the next few days.  In view of the fact that walking had been difficult for me over the past few days plus the not-so-exciting weather, we decided to turn tail and head home and fulfill the Pembrokeshire plans another time.