Cardiff

The Home of Doctor Who

Steven Fry, a famous English comedian and writer wrote, “Must say Cardiff is looking very good in the late afternoon sunshine. Castle and Town Hall are glowing. Much to like here.”

The United Kingdom is made up of four nations: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, each with its own capital city. But did you know that Wales didn’t have a capital city until Cardiff became the capital in 1955?

Something for everyone

Cardiff is about the same size as Brno, with a population of about 350,000. But it is a lively and exciting place with plenty of things to do. There is a castle, a big museum, plenty of shops, and lots of cafes and bars. Also, the Welsh love their sport and Cardiff has a Premiership ^*1 football team as well as top-class rugby, cricket and ice hockey teams.

A ball in the air

The Millennium Stadium is the fifth biggest stadium in the United Kingdom, just a bit smaller than Old Trafford in Manchester. It is the only rugby and football stadium in the UK with a roof. When Wales play rugby and the roof is closed, 75,000 people make a lot of noise.

Welsh gifts

Cardiff has the 6th best shopping centre in the UK. St David’s ^*2 is home to all the major chains of shops. But if you want something a bit different, handmade and local, why not explore the smaller elegant arcades around the city? These are over 100 years old. You can also find Spillers Records, the oldest record shop, first opened in 1894.

Cardiff Bay

If you want to escape from the busy city centre, you can take a bus down to Cardiff Bay. This is the area of Cardiff by the sea. Twenty years ago it was old deserted dockland. But now it is a lovely place to walk around, with small shops, great ice cream and a great view of the sea. But watch out for the seagulls – they like ice cream too!

The climate

Because Cardiff is by the sea, it rains a lot; sometimes it feels like it is never going to stop raining. When I was living in Cardiff, I was always cold. In winter the temperature was only 4 degrees, but because of the rain and the wind it felt much colder.

Despite the weather and the seagulls, Cardiff is certainly a great place to visit if you get a chance.

Written by Gareth Davies (UK)
Originally published by BRIDGE PUBLISHING, Gate Magazine, January 2014

GATE je vzdělávací neinzertní časopis pro české studenty anglického jazyka na úrovni A1-A2. Obsahuje zajímavé články, komiksy, kvízy, ukázky anglických zkoušek, soutěže. Je od nakladatelství Bridge Publishing House, které již mnoho let pro studenty vydává oblíbený časopis Bridge. Více informací naleznete na stránkách Bridge-online.cz

Článek o městě Cardiff je v časopise doplněn množstvím aktivit a kvízů.

Naši recenzi časopisu GATE si můžete přečíst zde.